Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William Stafford Bell | ||
Date of birth | 22 August 1860 | ||
Place of birth | Wales | ||
Date of death | 1930 69–70) | (aged||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Shrewsbury Engineers | |||
1884–1891 | Crewe Alexandra | ||
National team | |||
1881–1886 | Wales | 5 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
William Stafford Bell (born 1850) was a Welsh footballer who played as a defender. [1] He was part of the Wales national team between 1881 and 1886, playing five matches. He played his first match on 26 February 1881 against England and his last match on 10 April 1886 against Scotland. [2]
He played club football for Crewe Alexandra F.C. from 1884 to 1891, playing six games in Crewe's first season in the first incarnation of The Combination league in 1888-89, and the following two seasons in the Football Alliance, making a total of 26 appearances in all competitions. On 22 March 1890, he played in his own benefit match, against Burslem Port Vale, which Crewe won 4–2. He made his final appearance for Crewe in January 1891, also against Burslem Port Vale. [3]
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of the town's links with the rail industry, and also commonly known as 'The Alex', they have played at Gresty Road since 1906. The supporters' fiercest rivalry is with Staffordshire-based side Port Vale.
Port Vale Football Club is a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which competes in EFL League One. Vale is the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal. They have never played top-flight football, and hold the records for the most seasons in the English Football League (111) and in the second tier (41) without reaching the first tier. After playing at the Athletic Ground in Cobridge and The Old Recreation Ground in Hanley, the club returned to Burslem when Vale Park was opened in 1950. Outside the ground is a statue to Roy Sproson, who played 842 competitive games for the club. The club's traditional rivals are Stoke City, and games between the two are known as the Potteries derby.
The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The second was created for the 1890–91 season, but disbanded in 1911. The league comprised teams primarily from North West England and later Wales.
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