Bill Caton
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Clifford Caton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 September 1924[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 16 August 2011 (aged 86) | ||
| Place of death | Cross Heath, Newcastle-under-Lyme, England | ||
| Playing position | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1947–1949 | Stoke City | 22 | (2) |
| 1949–1952 | Carlisle United | 61 | (15) |
| 1952–1953 | Chesterfield | 7 | (0) |
| 1953–1954 | Worcester City | ||
| 1954–1955 | Crewe Alexandra | 39 | (9) |
| 1955–1957 | Gresley Rovers | 56 | (24) |
| 1957–1958 | Mossley | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 189 | (50) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
William Clifford "Bill" Caton (11 September 1924 – 16 August 2011) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Carlisle United, Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City.[1]
Army career
Caton joined the Second Field Regiment Royal Artillery during World War II and was captured and incarcerated by the Nazi's in Italy.[1] He managed to escape the prison camp by hiding in vehicle and jumping out of it once it had left the camp.[1]
Football career
After leaving the Army in 1947 Caton started playing football for his local side Stoke City however he was never a favourite with manager Bob McGrory being used mostly as a reserve team player and left for Bill Shankly's Carlisle United in 1949.[1] He later went on to play for Chesterfield, Worcester City, Crewe Alexandra, Gresley Rovers and Mossley.[1] Caton was able to throw the ball a long way similar to that of Rory Delap.[2] He died on 16 August 2011 at the age of 86.[3]
Career statistics
- Sourced from Bill Caton profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Club | Division | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Stoke City[1] | First Division | 1947–48 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| First Division | 1948–49 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |
| First Division | 1949–50 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | ||
| Carlisle United | Third Division North | 1949–50 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Third Division North | 1950–51 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 7 | |
| Third Division North | 1951–52 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 7 | |
| Total | 61 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 64 | 15 | ||
| Chesterfield | Third Division North | 1952–53 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Crewe Alexandra | Third Division North | 1954–55 | 39 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 9 |
| Career Total | 129 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 136 | 26 | ||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
- ↑ "Meet Bill Caton, Stoke's golden oldie who could throw the ball further than Rory". thisisstaffordshire.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ↑ "Farewell to Stoke City's original 'long throw wizard'". The Sentinel. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
External links
- Bill Caton stats at Neil Brown stat site
- Gresley Rovers profile at Gresley F.C.