 Wootton in 1929 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Wootton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1904-08-27)27 August 1904[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Longton, Staffordshire, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 2000 (aged 95–96) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Full-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Trentham | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1923–1924 | Stoke | 0 | (0) |
| 1924–1925 | Congleton Town | ||
| 1925–1932 | Port Vale | 56 | (0) |
| 1932–1933 | Southend United | 2 | (0) |
| 1933–1939 | Northwich Victoria | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1935–1947 | Northwich Victoria (player-manager) | ||
| 1947–1950 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| 1951–1952 | Halifax Town | ||
| 1952–1953 | Winsford United | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Wootton (27 August 1904 – 2000) was an Englishfootballer who played as afull-back forStoke,Congleton Town,Port Vale, andSouthend United. He later managedNorthwich Victoria,Oldham Athletic, andHalifax Town. He won theThird Division North title with Port Vale in 1929–30 and led Northwich Victoria to victory in theCheshire Senior Cup in 1937.
Wootton played for Trentham,Stoke andCongleton Town before joiningPort Vale in June 1925.[1] He made threeSecond Division appearances in the1925–26 season.[1] He remained a bit-part player for the "Valiants", featuring seven times in1926–27, 12 times in1927–28, and six times in1928–29.[1] Vale wererelegated in 1929, and Wootton played 20 league games in1929–30 as Vale won theThird Division North title.[1] However, he only played four games in1930–31 and six games in1931–32.[1]
In August 1932, he wastransferred toThird Division South sideSouthend United.[3] He became theplayer-manager ofCheshire County League clubNorthwich Victoria in 1935. He spent 12 years atDrill Field, leading them to theCheshire Senior Cup in 1937, as well as the League Challenge Cup and Edward Case Cup, and making player sales totalling £820.[4]
Having been player-manager beforeWorld War 2, Wootton was appointed Northwich Victoria manager when the football club resumed activities on 19 January 1946.[5] He resigned in January 1947, citing "changed conditions of his employment [that] prevented him from carrying out his duties at the Drill Field satisfactorily".[6] Wootton became themanager ofThird Division North sideOldham Athletic in June 1947. He oversaw 141 games atBoundary Park. He achieved a 38.28 win percentage but failed to gain the club thepromotion to theSecond Division they craved. He negotiated the sales ofKen Brierley toLiverpool and bothRay Haddington andBilly Spurdle toManchester City.[7] He resigned on 30 September 1950 after a poor start to the1949–50 season saw the Latics with seven points from ten matches, which was reported to be a surprise to the Oldham board.[8][9] He reportedly applied for the vacant manager's job atWrexham in October 1950.[10] He was made secretary-manager ofHalifax Town the following year.Gerry Henry was appointed as player-coach on 4 December 1951, with Wootton being described as absent on other business.[11] He spent just one season with Halifax and leftThe Shay after leading the "Shaymen" to a 20th-place finish in the Third Division North in1951–52. On 12 July 1952, he was appointed as manager ofWinsford United in theCheshire County League, having previously come close to taking the job when he had instead taken charge at Oldham.[7] He negotiated the sale of Eric Johnson toCoventry City for £1,500, rising to a potential £2,000.[12] He left the club by mutual consent on 26 August 1953 to concentrate on his business concerns.[13]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke | 1923–24 | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Port Vale | 1925–26 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1926–27 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1927–28 | Second Division | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1928–29 | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1929–30 | Third Division North | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 1930–31 | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1931–32 | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 0 | ||
| Southend United | 1932–33 | Third Division South | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 58 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 0 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Oldham Athletic | 1 June 1947 | 14 September 1950 | 145 | 54 | 37 | 54 | 037.2 |
| Halifax Town | 5 March 1951 | 6 February 1952 | 44 | 9 | 10 | 25 | 020.5 |
| Total | 189 | 63 | 47 | 79 | 033.3 | ||
Port Vale
Northwich Victoria