Billy Howells

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Billy Howells
Personal information
Full name William Mansel Howells
Date of birth (1943-03-20) 20 March 1943 (age 82) [1]
Place of birth Grimsby, England
Date of death January 10, 2026
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2]
Position Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1961–1965 Grimsby Town 6 (0)
1965–1975 Boston United 572 (25)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Mansel Howells (born 20 March 1943) was an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played in the Football League for Grimsby Town [2] before moving into non-league football with Boston United, where he set a record for most first-team appearances for the club with 572. [3] His record was overtaken by Paul Bastock in 2003, Howells attending a pre-season game to present the goalkeeper with an award to mark the achievement. Howells remains the club's record outfield appearance holder.

During his time at Boston United, he played under the management of Don Donovan, Jim Smith and Keith Jobling; having signed in 1965 as the Pilgrims re-joined the Non-League sphere. Winners of the 1965/66 United Counties League, Howells and his teammates then secured back to back West Midlands League titles before joining the inaugural Northern Premier League in 1968.

Howells would feature heavily in championship winning teams in 1973 and 1975, including scoring the title-clinching goal in a 1-1 draw with Goole in '73. Alongside his five league titles, Howells contributed to eight cup successes: the United Counties League Cup (1965/66), West Midlands League Cup (1967/68), Eastern Professional Floodlit Cup (1971/72), Champion of Champions Cup (1972/73), the Northern Premier League Cup (1973/74 and 1975/76) and the NPL Shield (1973/75 and 1974/75). [4]

He died in January 2026, at the age of 82. [5]

References

  1. ↑ "Billy Howells". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 Lamming, Douglas (1985). A who's who of Grimsby Town AFC : 1890–1985. Beverley: Hutton. p. 42. ISBN   0-907033-34-2.
  3. ↑ "Boston United Roll Call". Boston United FC – the original website. Ken Fox. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  4. ↑ James, Christian (2022). The York Street Years. Chris Cook Print.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ↑ "Boston United FC official X account". 10 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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