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William John Kirton (2 December 1895 – 27 September 1970) was afootballer in the early years of professional football in England, who played over 200 games forAston Villa and is best known for scoring the only goal in the1920 FA Cup Final.
Kirton was born inNewcastle upon Tyne. Kirton was a member of theTemperance Society and played for Pandon Temperance before joiningLeeds City in May 1919. After Kirton had played only one game for the club, City went out of business and he was transferred to Aston Villa for £500 in October 1919. He played 261 matches for Aston Villa.[1]
In the 1919–20 season Aston Villa enjoyed a successful run in theFA Cup beatingQPR (2-1),Manchester United (2-1),Sunderland (1-0),Tottenham Hotspur (1-0) andChelsea (3-1).
Aston Villa playedHuddersfield Town in thefinal atStamford Bridge. Kirton scored the only goal of the game and Villa won the cup for the sixth time in its history. Kirton won his first and only international cap forEngland againstNorthern Ireland on 22 October 1921, scoring England's only goal in a 1–1 draw.
Kirton, a talented inside-forward, formed a productive partnership withClem Stephenson. A teetotaller and non-smoker, he scored 59 goals in 261 appearances before signing forCoventry City in September 1928. However, he failed to score for his new club in 16 games and left to joinKidderminster Harriers.
After retiring from professional football, Kirton ran anewsagent's shop inGreat Barr, Birmingham.
Kirton died inSutton Coldfield on 27 September 1970.
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