| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William George Leonard Graham[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 October 1925[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland[2] | ||
| Date of death | 30 September 2007(2007-09-30) (aged 81)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Blackpool, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Full-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Linfield Swifts | |||
| –1949 | Brantwood | ||
| 1949–1958 | Doncaster Rovers | 303 | (3) |
| 1958–1959 | Torquay United | 20 | (0) |
| 1959–1960 | Ards | ||
| International career | |||
| 1951–1958 | Northern Ireland | 14 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1959–1960 | Ards | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William George Leonard Graham (17 October 1925 – 30 September 2007) was aNorthern Ireland internationalfootballer andmanager. Afull-back, he made 303 league appearances in a nine-year career in theFootball League withDoncaster Rovers lasting most of the 1950s. He also played for Linfield Swifts,Brantwood, andTorquay United, and briefly managedArds. He won 14 caps for Northern Ireland in the 1950s.[3]
Graham began his career playing as an inside-forward with Linfield Swifts but began playing as a full-back after joiningBrantwood.[2] In October 1949, he became one ofPeter Doherty's first signings asDoncaster Roversmanager, although had to wait until 18 March 1950 for his debut, a 2–0 home win againstWrexham.[2] "Donny" went on to winpromotion out of theThird Division North as champions in1949–50. TheBelle Vue club then successfully survived as a mid-tableSecond Division side in1950–51,1951–52,1952–53,1953–54,1954–55,1955–56, and1956–57, before beingrelegated into theThird Division at the end of the1957–58 campaign. In November 1958, Graham signed withTorquay United. He played 20Fourth Division games to helpEric Webber's "Gulls" to a 12th-place finish in1958–59. He then leftPlainmoor and returned to Northern Ireland asplayer-manager ofIrish League sideArds, but left Ards at the end of the1959–60 season.[4]
On 7 March 1951, Graham made his debut forPeter Doherty'sNorthern Ireland in a 2–1 defeat at home toWales and was a regular in the Northern Irish side until the end of 1955 whenWillie Cunningham replaced him.[2] Graham was a member of the 22-man 1958 Northern IrelandWorld Cup squad, but was one of five unlucky squad members who didn't travel to Sweden for the tournament (of 16 nations taking part, Northern Ireland was one of only three which did not take the full permitted complement of 22 players). However, he made one further appearance for Northern Ireland, on 4 October 1958, in a 3–3 draw at home toEngland, their first game after the World Cup finals. Graham remains the mostcapped international player inDoncaster Rovers' history.[2]
Graham later worked as first-teamcoach atStoke City and became the new managerTony Waddington's assistant in 1960. From 1965 he coached atPort Vale under managerStanley Matthews, before taking up the same position atBlackpool in 1967, under managerStan Mortensen, before he retired from football in 1975, after which he worked atBritish Aerospace.[5]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Doncaster Rovers | 1949–50 | Third Division North | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1950–51 | Second Division | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| 1951–52 | Second Division | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| 1952–53 | Second Division | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| 1953–54 | Second Division | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 1954–55 | Second Division | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1955–56 | Second Division | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1956–57 | Second Division | 41 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 1957–58 | Second Division | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 1958–59 | Third Division | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |
| Total | 312 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 332 | 3 | ||
| Torquay United | 1962–63 | Fourth Division | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Career total | 332 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 355 | 3 | ||
| Northern Ireland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1951 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952 | 3 | 0 |
| 1953 | 1 | 0 |
| 1954 | 2 | 0 |
| 1955 | 3 | 0 |
| 1956 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | 1 | 0 |
| Total[7] | 14 | 0 |
Doncaster Rovers
