William Townley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Townley, (born February 14, 1866, died May 30, 1950 in Blackpool, England), was an English football (soccer) player and coach.
He scored the first hat-trick in the history of the FA Cup final, but his lasting heritage is defined by pioneering the game in Germany as journeyman coach on the continent.
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[edit] Playing career
He started at Blackburn Olympic F.C., and played later for Blackburn Rovers, then the probably best team in England and thus the world. There he won the FA Cup in 1890 and 1891. In the first final against The Wednesday the left forward contributed three goals to the 6-1 scoreline, and thus gained the distinction of being the first player achieving a hat-trick in the FA Cup final. He scored another goal in the successful defence of the title when Rovers overcame Notts County 3-1. His total of four goals in FA Cup finals has as yet only been bettered once, by Liverpool's Ian Rush in the 1980's, who however took three finals to achieve this. In 1889 and 1890 he also got two calls to play for England, scoring twice. In 1894 he moved to Darwen F.C. for six years before joining Manchester City, where ended his career.
[edit] Coaching career
At the end of his playing years he took up coaching as a profession. As the market for coaches in England was limited he sought his luck on the continent where football was beginning to take serious roots. In Germany, like probably anywhere else in Europe, the game was strictly amateur, and players often had to at least share in travelling expenses. To have a coach then was not yet a matter of-course, rather a luxury. In those days it was quite usual for a senior player, or a club functionary, to carry out the tasks of a coach. Coaches were often hired for special occasions only, or a brief period to expand on the skills of a team and, then they took the train and travelled on.
William Townley's first engagement was with the German Football Club in Prague (DFC Prague), 1903 runners-up in the first German championship. Therafter he joined Karlsruher FV, championship finalists in 1905. Townley expanded on that and led them to their one and only title in 1910.
In the year thereafter he was hired by the northern Bavarian (Franken) team of SpVgg Fürth (which mutated in the 1990s to SpVgg Greuther Fürth). This club owned the most advanced facilities in imperial Germany and was quickly becoming the largest club in the country with around 3 000 members. Two months after his arrival the SpVgg (short for Spielvereinigung, or something like 'play community') won sensationally 2-1 against the visiting English side Newcastle United. Thereafter he led the club to its first two first Bavarian championships (Ostkreismeisterschaft). which signified the onset of their golden era that should last into the 1930s.
In December 1913 Townley got a call from Bayern Munich. On a kind of loan arrangement he returned to Fürth in April of the following year to guide the SpVgg through the championship play-offs. In the final the SpVgg defeated the then with three titles German record champions and defenders VfB Leipzig and attained the title for the first time for itself.
Afterwards he may have returned to Bavarian capital. The horrors of World War I laid soon their dark clouds over Europe, and we have at this stage no records about William Townley in this period.
From 1919 to 1921 he returned to Bayern and achieved local and regional titles. In August 1920 it seems he was loaned to Swiss club FC St. Gallen for what probably amounts to a summer training camp. Incidentally, Townley's two tenures in Munich coincide with the first two incumbencies of the legendary Bayern President Kurt Landauer, who in his third term should achieve the clubs first national title in 1932, then with the Austrian Richard Dombi - of later Feyenoord fame - as coach.
Afterwards he moves to SV Waldhof in Mannheim where he is hired to aid in the club's preparations for the South-German Championship. The team is only stopped by the later successful title defenders 1. FC Nürnberg .
He may also have been engaged in Sweden in those years. It has been quoted that he had a spell with Hamburger SV, then in the ascendancy to its first golden era, but in fact it was local rivals Victoria Hamburg where he and his son (a striker) spent a couple of seasons. British club member A. W. Turner was connected to HSV's two appearances in the German championship finals in 1922 and 1923, though, being a board member and part-time coach.
In 1923 Townley returns to St. Gallen where he stays this time until February 1925. In this context it is worth mentioning that from 1912-1914 John "Jack" Reynolds was the first English coach in St. Gallen. Reynolds ended up going to Amsterdam where he, until 1947, shaped AFC Ajax into the top club of the Netherlands.
Townley interrupted his time in Switzerland for a four months stint with the Netherlands where guided the Dutch national team through the 1924 Olympics in Paris. In the semi-finals the Netherlands lost tightly against then doubtlessly greatest team of that era, Uruguay - then with the legendary Andrade and Cea amongst their ranks - and had to settle for fourth place.
In May 1926 he rejoins SpVgg Fürth for the Championship final, overcoming Hertha BSC to win the club's second, and Townley's his third national title. After about a year he is found coaching the championship finalists of 1925, FSV Frankfurt, and he is also to have coached close by Union Niederrad in that period.
In 1930 he returns once more to Fürth. In his third tenure with the SpVgg he wins the South German Championship, but the club is ousted in the quarterfinals of the national competition by the defenders Hertha BSC.
His last post that can be traced was with Arminia Hannover, then a regional force, where Townley, now in his mid-sixties, commences a tenure in 1932. Arminia defeats Dresdner SC in the quarterfinals, but lose in the semi-finals on their home turf to the later champions Fortuna Düsseldorf. starring the legendary Paul Janes. This marks the zenith in the annals of Arminia - and probably, it was also the last big hooray for this great pioneer of the game in Germany.
William Townley died in Blackpool on the Lancashire coast in 1950 at the age of 84.
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Record as a player
[edit] Club career
| Year | Club | Year | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18?? | Blackburn Junior Football | ||
| 18?? | Blackburn Olympic F.C. | ||
| 1886 | Blackburn Rovers | 1890 1891 |
Cup Cup |
| 1894 | Darwen F.C. | ||
| 1900 | Manchester City |
[edit] English national team
23/02/1889 - Home Championship - Stoke: England - Wales 4-1
15/03/1890 - Home Championship - Belfast: Ireland - England 9-1 (2 goals by Townley)
[edit] Record as a coach
| Years | Club | Details | Year | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19??-1909 | Deutscher FC Prag | |||
| 1909-1911 | Karlsruher FV | 1910 | Championship | |
| 1911-1913 | SpVgg Fürth | 04/1911 - 12/1913 | 1912 1913 |
Bavarian Championship Bavarian Championship |
| 1914 | FC Bayern München | 01/1914 - 04/1914 | ||
| 1914 | SpVgg Fürth | 04/1914 - 05/1914 | 1914 | Championship |
| 1914 | FC Bayern München | |||
| 1919-1921 | FC Bayern München | 1920 | Champion Munich, Champion Southern Bavaria |
|
| 1920 | FC St. Gallen (CH) | 08/1920 | ||
| 1921 | SV Waldhof Mannheim | 01/1921 - 03/1921 | ||
| 192?-1923 | Victoria Hamburg | |||
| 1923-1925 | FC St. Gallen (CH) | 1923 - 02/1925 | ||
| 1924 | Netherlands (National) | 03/1924-06/1924 | 1924 | Olympics, 4th place |
| 1926-1927 | SpVgg Fürth | 05/1926 - 09/1927 | 1926 1927 |
Championship South German Cup |
| 192?-19?? | FSV Frankfurt | |||
| 1930-1932 | SpVgg Fürth | 09/30 - 06/1932 | 1931 | Champion South Germany |
| 1932 (?) | Eintracht Hannover | |||
| 1932-193x | Arminia Hannover | 1933 | Champion North Germany (Southern District) |
Not verified engagements:
- Sweden ?
- FC Union Niederrad 07 (ca. 1927/1930)
