Robert William "Billy" Matthews (16 Apr 1897, Plas Bennion, Ruabon

Ruabon

Ruabon is a village and community in the county borough of Wrexham in Wales.More than 80% of the population of 2,400 were born in Wales with 13.6% speaking Welsh....

, Denbighshire

Denbighshire

Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 – 18 December 1987) played football as centre-half for Liverpool Football Club in the early 1920s and earned three caps for Wales

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he took part in the Battle of the Somme, in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Williams also played in The Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for Bristol City

Bristol City F.C.

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

, Wrexham

Wrexham A.F.C.

Wrexham Football Club are a professional football team based in Wrexham, north-east Wales, who play in the English football pyramid.Founded in 1872, they are one of the oldest surviving football clubs in Britain and the oldest professional club in Wales...

, Barrow

Barrow A.F.C.

Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...

, Bradford Park Avenue, Stockport County

Stockport County F.C.

Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

 and Chester

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

. His non-league clubs included Northwich Victoria

Northwich Victoria F.C.

Northwich Victoria Football Club are an English football club who play at the Victoria Stadium in Wincham, Northwich, Cheshire in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system.Northwich are an old club, founded in 1874 and named in honour of...

, Oswestry Town

Oswestry Town F.C.

Oswestry Town F.C. was a football club, formerly playing in the League of Wales.The club was founded as Oswestry United in 1860, which meant they were one of the world's oldest football clubs. Matches were latterly played at Park Hall stadium, Oswestry, after a spell at Victoria Road...

, Witton Albion

Witton Albion F.C.

Witton Albion F.C. are a football club based in Northwich, England. They were founded in 1887. They have won the Cheshire Senior Cup 11 times since 1902. Their most recent success in this competition was in 2006, when they defeated Stalybridge Celtic in the final. They have also reached the FA Cup...

, Sandbach Ramblers, Colwyn Bay

Colwyn Bay F.C.

Colwyn Bay F.C. are a Welsh football club, as of the 2011–12 season are playing in the Conference North. Nicknamed the Seagulls, the club play at Llanelian Road in Old Colwyn.-History:...

 and Rossendale United

Rossendale United F.C.

Rossendale United F.C. was an English football club based in Newchurch, near Rawtenstall, Lancashire. The club was formed in 1898 but was expelled from the North West Counties League Premier Division on 18 June 2011....

Later career

Following his retirement from football, Matthews turned to coaching and had a spell as manager of Llangollen

Llangollen Town F.C.

Llangollen Town F.C. is a Welsh football club based in Llangollen playing in the Welsh National League Premier Division. They were founded in 1908.-Honours:* 1968 League Champions* 1972 League Champions* 1974 North East Wales Challenge Cup Winners...

. He later became a scout

Scout (sport)

In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

 for Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 and discovered Glyn James

Glyn James

Edward Glyn James is a Welsh former professional footballer. He played as a defender. He spent his entire professional career with Blackpool.James also represented Wales on nine occasions.-Early life:...

.

Matthews was also a keen cyclist well into his late 70s.

External links

• Liverpool FC history profile
• Article on players to play for Chester and Liverpool (see Billy Matthews)