William 'Will' Devey was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional football

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...

er who played as a centre-forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 for Small Heath

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 (renamed from Small Heath Aliiance in 1888) in the Football Alliance

Football Alliance

The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.It was formed by 12 clubs as a rival to the Football League, which had begun in the 1888–89 season, also with 12 member clubs...

 and for a variety of Midlands

English Midlands

The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...

 clubs in the Football League and outside it.

Football career

He was Small Heath Alliance's leading scorer for their first two seasons in the Football Alliance (1889–90

1889-90 in English football

The 1889–90 season was the 19th season of competitive football in England. Preston North End were Football League champions for the second successive season while The Wednesday finished top of the newly formed Football Alliance. Blackburn Rovers won the FA Cup....

 and 1890–91

1890-91 in English football

The 1890–91 season was the 20th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Everton started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with Fred Geary scoring in each of the first six matches...

) before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

 where he became their leading scorer in the next Football League season.

Family

He was one of five brothers who all played professional football, Ted

Ted Devey

Edwin James "Ted" Devey was an English professional footballer who played as a left half.-Football career:Born in Small Heath, Birmingham, he played for local club Birmingham Excelsior before signing for Small Heath in 1888...

 and Will for Small Heath and Jack

John Devey

John Henry George "Jack" Devey was a football player.-Football career:Devey was born in Birmingham and signed for Aston Villa in March 1891; he would go on to become one of Aston Villa's greatest captains...

, Harry

Harry Devey

Harry Percival Devey was an English footballer who played in The Football League for Aston Villa.-Family:He was one of five brothers who all played professional football, Ted and Will for Small Heath and Jack, Harry and Bob for Aston Villa. Another brother, Abel, was a cricketer with...

 and Bob for Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

. Another brother, Abel, was a cricketer with Staffordshire

Staffordshire County Cricket Club

Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...

.