Billy McAdams
Encyclopedia
William "Billy" John McAdams (born 20 January 1934 in Belfast
; died October 2002 in Barrow-in-Furness
) was a Northern Irish
footballer
. McAdams played in the inside forward position. On leaving school at 15, he took an apprenticeship as a heating engineer and played as an amateur. At 17, he went to Burnley for a successful three month trial but his father wouldn't agree to the terms offered. So he went back to Ireland where he signed professional forms for Distillery (Charles Buchan's Football Monthly, Jan 1967). He then played for Manchester City
between 1953 and 1959 making 127 appearances and scoring 61 goals. This was in spite of not kicking a ball for two years because of a back injury which caused him to miss two FA Cup Finals.
He then signed for Bolton Wanderers
who hoped he could be successor to Nat Lofthouse
. In his first season with the team he scored 18 goals in 27 appearances. Don Revie brought him to Leeds but he only stayed briefly before forming part of an all-International inside forward line at Brentford for the 1962-3 season. Brentford won the 4th Division Championship with McAdams scoring 22 goals in 34 League appearances (Brentford Official Handbook 1963-4). He then went on to score goals for Queens Park Rangers and Barrow whom he assisted to gain promotion from Division Four at the end of the 1966-67 season, the first of two at Holker Street
. He also won 15 caps for Northern Ireland scoring 7 goals in the process. Most memorably, he scored 3 goals in a 1960 World Cup Qualifier against West Germany although Northern Ireland lost the match 4-3 (NIG Blog Archive; also Charles Buchan's Football Monthly Jan 1967). Terry Neill (Revelations of a Football Manager1985), in remembering his own Northern Ireland days, refers to McAdams as one of "'the toothless ones', those players who had a habit of leaving their false teeth lying around... We called him 'Rocky' because of his scarred appearance. Most of his scars came from footballing injuries, but the worst was caused when he leaned forward in his car one day to change the station on his radio and crashed."
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
; died October 2002 in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
) was a Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. McAdams played in the inside forward position. On leaving school at 15, he took an apprenticeship as a heating engineer and played as an amateur. At 17, he went to Burnley for a successful three month trial but his father wouldn't agree to the terms offered. So he went back to Ireland where he signed professional forms for Distillery (Charles Buchan's Football Monthly, Jan 1967). He then played for Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
between 1953 and 1959 making 127 appearances and scoring 61 goals. This was in spite of not kicking a ball for two years because of a back injury which caused him to miss two FA Cup Finals.
He then signed for Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
who hoped he could be successor to Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse
Nathaniel "Nat" Lofthouse, OBE was an English professional footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers for his whole career...
. In his first season with the team he scored 18 goals in 27 appearances. Don Revie brought him to Leeds but he only stayed briefly before forming part of an all-International inside forward line at Brentford for the 1962-3 season. Brentford won the 4th Division Championship with McAdams scoring 22 goals in 34 League appearances (Brentford Official Handbook 1963-4). He then went on to score goals for Queens Park Rangers and Barrow whom he assisted to gain promotion from Division Four at the end of the 1966-67 season, the first of two at Holker Street
Holker Street
Holker Street, also known as the Furness Building Society Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a sports stadium located in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Currently and originally used as a football ground, it has also previously been used for speedways races...
. He also won 15 caps for Northern Ireland scoring 7 goals in the process. Most memorably, he scored 3 goals in a 1960 World Cup Qualifier against West Germany although Northern Ireland lost the match 4-3 (NIG Blog Archive; also Charles Buchan's Football Monthly Jan 1967). Terry Neill (Revelations of a Football Manager1985), in remembering his own Northern Ireland days, refers to McAdams as one of "'the toothless ones', those players who had a habit of leaving their false teeth lying around... We called him 'Rocky' because of his scarred appearance. Most of his scars came from footballing injuries, but the worst was caused when he leaned forward in his car one day to change the station on his radio and crashed."