Billy Elson

For other people named William Elson, see William Elson (disambiguation).

Billy Elson

Personal information
Full name	William Elson [1]
Date of birth	1865
Place of birth	Burslem, England
Date of death	1937 (aged 71–72)
Position(s)	Half-back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1886–1894	Burslem Port Vale	97	(6)
	West Manchester
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Elson (1865 – 1937) was an English footballer. He played 241 games and scored 15 goals for Burslem Port Vale; however, 114 of these games were friendlies.

Career

Elson most likely joined Burslem Port Vale in the summer of 1886. ^[1] After a slow start, he became a regular from January 1888 and was in the side that shared the North Staffordshire Charity Challenge Cup in 1891. ^[1] He played 16 Second Division games in 1892–93, in what was the club's first season in the English Football League. He played 26 league games in the 1893–94 season. ^[1] He scored his first Football League goal at the Athletic Ground on 4 December, in a 6–1 victory over Grimsby Town. ^[1] Five days later, after a match at Crewe Alexandra he was physically attacked. At that point, he challenged the crowd to "come on" one by one. ^[1] On 13 January, he claimed another goal in a 5–3 defeat at Burton Swifts. ^[1] He transferred to West Manchester in the summer of 1894. ^[1]

Career statistics

Source: ^[2]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burslem Port Vale	1886–87	–	0	0	2	0	9	1	11	1
	1887–88	–	0	0	1	0	19	1	20	1
	1888–89	Combination	19	0	0	0	20	1	39	1
	1889–90	–	0	0	1	0	39	4	40	4
	1890–91	Midland League	20	2	2	1	24	0	46	3
	1891–92	Midland League	16	2	0	0	20	0	36	2
	1892–93	Second Division	16	0	1	0	2	1	19	1
	1893–94	Second Division	26	2	1	0	2	0	29	2
	Total		97	6	8	1	135	8	240	15

Honours

Port Vale

• North Staffordshire Charity Challenge Cup: 1891 (shared)

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 95. ISBN   0-9529152-0-0.
2. Billy Elson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)