Bill Caton

Bill Caton
Personal information
Full name William Clifford Caton[1]
Date of birth (1924-09-11)11 September 1924[1]
Place of birth Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Date of death 16 August 2011(2011-08-16) (aged 86)
Place of death Cross Heath, Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Position(s) 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)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Clifford 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 Nazis in Italy.[1] He managed to escape the prison camp by hiding in a 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

Source:[4]

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City[1] 1947–48 First Division 3 1 0 0 3 1
1948–49 First Division 10 1 0 0 10 1
1949–50 First Division 9 0 0 0 9 0
Total 22 2 0 0 22 2
Carlisle United 1949–50 Third Division North 3 1 0 0 3 1
1950–51 Third Division North 31 7 2 0 33 7
1951–52 Third Division North 27 7 1 0 28 7
Total 61 15 3 0 64 15
Chesterfield 1952–53 Third Division North 7 0 3 0 10 0
Crewe Alexandra 1954–55 Third Division North 39 9 1 0 39 9
Career total 129 26 7 0 136 26

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ "Meet Bill Caton, Stoke's golden oldie who could throw the ball further than Rory". thisisstaffordshire.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Farewell to Stoke City's original 'long throw wizard'". The Sentinel. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  4. ^ Bill Caton at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)