Billy Oxley
Personal information
Full name William Oxley[1]
Date of birth (1899-12-04)4 December 1899[1]
Place of birth Wallsend, Northumberland, England
Date of death 29 December 1951 (1951-12-30) (aged 52)
Place of death Wallsend
Height 5 ft 10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1923 Percy Main Amateurs
– Wallsend Athletic
1923– Middlesbrough 0 (0)
– Walker Celtic
1924–1925 Rochdale 11 (5)
1925 Manchester City 0 (0)
1925–1926 Southport 11 (1)
1926 Merthyr Town 3 (0)
1926 Northampton Town 3 (1)
1927 Durham City 14 (15)
1927–1928 Wigan Borough 0 (0)
1928 Darlington 1 (1)
192?–1929 Consett (19)
1929–19?? Carlisle United 1 (0)
– Blyth Spartans
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Oxley (4 December 1899 – 29 December 1951) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward in the Football League for Rochdale, Southport, Merthyr Town, Northampton Town, Durham City, Darlington and Carlisle United. He was on the books of Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Wigan Borough, without playing League football for any of them, and also played non-league football for Percy Main Amateurs, Wallsend Athletic, Walker Celtic, Consett and Blyth Spartans.[1]

Personal life

Oxley was born and raised in Wallsend, Northumberland, the son of Edward Oxley, a machine driller in a boiler workshop, and his wife Clara.[1][3] He was apprenticed as a boilermaker, and enlisted in the Durham Light Infantry towards the end of the First World War.[4] He died in 1951.[1]

Oxley's older brother Dick also played football professionally.[1][3]

Football career

Oxley played non-league football for Percy Main Amateurs and Wallsend Athletic before joining Second Division club Middlesbrough.[1] He appeared and scored for their North-Eastern League team,[5] but not for the first team, and moved on to Walker Celtic and then Rochdale, with whom he first played in the Football League. He scored five goals from eleven matches in the Third Division North.[1] His first came on his home debut, in September 1924, in which he played a "bustling" game in a 3–1 win against Wrexham,[6] and the remaining four were in the latter part of the season, against Rotherham County, Doncaster Rovers (2), and Tranmere Rovers.[7]

He moved on to Manchester City, but played only for their Central League team, and then signed for Southport in November 1925, where he remained until the end of the season and made eleven appearances in the Third Division North, scoring once.[8] Brief spells with Merthyr Town and Northampton Town,[9] – for whom he scored in a defeat at Queens Park Rangers in the Southern Section[10] – preceded a return to the north-east of England with Durham City, with whom he completed the season in prolific manner.[11] In 14 Third Division matches, Oxley scored 15 goals, including braces against Nelson,[12] New Brighton,[13] Lincoln City,[14] Bradford,[15] and his former club, Southport.[16]

He also scored against Wigan Borough, which may have impressed them, because two weeks after his application to the Football League for a free transfer was successful, he signed for them.[17] Oxley missed the opening of the new season through illness,[18] and never managed to break into Wigan's first team thereafter. He played once and scored once for Darlington in the Third Division,[1] a headed equaliser against Chesterfield in October 1928 that "made amends for previous mistakes",[19] and was granted a free transfer a couple of weeks later.[20]

Consett was his next port of call, for whom he scored 19 North-Eastern League goals before making what proved a brief return to the Football League with Carlisle United in September 1929.[21] He signed for the club, went straight into the starting eleven for that night's match against Wigan, "saw little of the ball and made little use of it when he did get it", Carlisle lost 8–0,[22] and Oxley finished his football career with Blyth Spartans.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  2. ↑ "Players A to Z – (Nelis–Pursell)". Wigan Borough Football Club – Complete. Bernard Ramsdale. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 "1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription 57 Westmorland St Wallsend on Tyne, Wallsend, Northumberland, England". William Oxley. Age: 11. Birth place: Northumberland Wallsend. Census reference: RG14PN30717 RG78PN1757 RD559 SD1 ED11 SN189. Retrieved 24 October 2014 – via Findmypast.
  4. ↑ "British Army Service Records 1914–1920 Transcription". William Oxley. Service number: 106395. Regiment: Durham Light Infantry. Unit/Battalion: 5th Grad, 3rd, 5th Battalion. Event year: 1918. Series: WO363. Retrieved 24 October 2014 – via Findmypast.
  5. ↑ "North-Eastern League". Yorkshire Post. 15 October 1923. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Wrexham lost at Rochdale". Yorkshire Post. 29 September 1924. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Division III (Northern Section)". Devon and Exeter Gazette. 9 February 1925. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
    "Doncaster Rovers v. Rochdale". Yorkshire Post. 24 February 1925. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
    "Division III (Northern Section)". Devon and Exeter Gazette. 9 March 1925. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Sporting items". Nottingham Evening Post. 12 November 1925. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
    Urwin, Rob (23 September 2008). "Football League Player List" (PDF). Southport FC Stats. Southport F.C. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Cobblers. Still without an October victory". Northampton Mercury. 29 October 1926. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive. In the forward line were two new faces, Oxley, the old Southport, Rochdale, and Manchester City centre forward, who recently had a trial with Merthyr ... Oxley is well-built for the leadership of forwards, for he has both height and weight. He also possesses a faculty for bursting through, having good ball control, and had he and others been anything resembling deadly shots Northampton would have won.
    "Notts. and Derby benefits". Nottingham Evening Post. 13 December 1926. p. 1 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Division III (Southern Section)". Devon and Exeter Gazette. 1 November 1926. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "To-day's teams". Yorkshire Post. 19 February 1927. p. 17 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ↑ "Nelson's draw at Durham". Burnley Express. 9 March 1927. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ↑ "Division III (Northern Section)". Devon and Exeter Gazette. 21 March 1927. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ↑ "Lincoln visit Durham". Nottingham Evening Post. 18 April 1927. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ↑ "Bradford defeated". Yorkshire Post. 2 May 1927. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ "Durham City win at Southport". Yorkshire Post. 4 May 1927. p. 17 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ↑ "Third Division. Northern results and table". Yorkshire Post. 4 April 1927. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
    "Transfer applications". Northern Daily Mail. West Hartlepool. 2 July 1927. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
    "Durham City's centre joins Wigan". Northern Daily Mail. West Hartlepool. 16 July 1927. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ↑ "Wigan's three new players". Northern Daily Mail. West Hartlepool. 25 August 1927. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. ↑ "Darlington draw". Yorkshire Post. 15 October 1928. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ↑ "Carlisle United fined". Yorkshire Post. 1 November 1928. p. 17 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ↑ "Former Durham centre". Northern Daily Mail. West Hartlepool. 25 September 1929. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  22. ↑ "Eight goals against Cowell". Northern Daily Mail. West Hartlepool. 26 September 1929. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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