 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Perry | ||
| Date of birth | (1930-09-10)10 September 1930 | ||
| Place of birth | Johannesburg,South Africa | ||
| Date of death | 27 September 2007(2007-09-27) (aged 77) | ||
| Position | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1947–1949 | Johannesburg Rangers | ? | (?) |
| 1949–1962 | Blackpool | 394 | (119) |
| 1962–1963 | Southport | 26 | (0) |
| 1963–1964 | Hereford United | 29 | (0) |
| 1964–1965 | South Coast United | ||
| 1966–1967 | Holyhead Town | ||
| International career | |||
| 1955–1956 | England | 3 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Perry (10 September 1930 – 27 September 2007) was a professionalfootballer. He spent thirteen seasons atBlackpool from 1949 to 1962. Born in South Africa, he played for theEngland national team.
Perry, an outside-left, signed for Blackpool in 1949 after being recommended to the club by scout Billy Butler, who coached him at Johannesburg Rangers.[1]
Perry made his league debut for Blackpool on 18 March 1950, in a win atManchester United. The following season, hisFA Cup semi-final replay goal againstBirmingham City helped put Blackpool into theFinal againstNewcastle United.[1]
Perry's most notable achievement was scoring the injury-time winner in the1953 FA Cup Final againstBolton Wanderers, cementing a comeback from 1–3 to 4–3 thanks to an earlierStan Mortensen hat-trick. As in 1951, his semi-final goal, this time againstTottenham Hotspur, sent Blackpool on their way to Wembley.
During the1955–56 season, Perry scored twenty goals (a record for a winger)[1] (including a hat-trick in the first of twoWest Lancashire derbies in the space of twenty-four hours) to help Blackpool to their highest-ever league position of runners-up in theFirst Division.
A cartilage operation virtually ended Perry's playing career, and after being in and out of the side, he was transfer-listed in the summer of 1962.
Southport came in for his services, where he played 26 games from August 1962 until May 1963 when he joinedHereford United.
He remained at Edgar Street for just the one season and made a total of 29 appearances for Hereford during his time there. Perry left Hereford at the end of the 1963–64 season and had a short spell in Australia before retiring with Holyhead Town. He became a director ofFleetwood Town between 1967 and 1970.
Perry was inducted into theHall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool playerJimmy Armfield in April 2006.[2] Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Perry is in the 1950s.[3]
Perry made three appearances for England, scoring two goals.
After retiring, Perry ran a couple of businesses in Blackpool, where he lived with his wife, Jean.
In January 2007, he was reunited with theFA Cup after 54 years when the trophy was taken toBloomfield Road as part of the build-up to the Seasiders' fourth-round tie withNorwich City. Also in attendance wasCyril Robinson, at the time the only other surviving member of the cup-winning team.[4] Perry died eight months later at the age of 77.[5]
Blackpool
