Charlie Williams (footballer)

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For the Doncaster Rovers player turned comedian, see Charlie Williams (comedian).

Personal information
Charlie Williams
Full name	Charles Albert Williams
Date of birth	November 19, 1873
Place of birth	Welling, Kent, England
Date of death	1952
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1891-1894 1894-1902 1902-1905	Arsenal Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur Norwich City Brentford	019 (0) 232 (1)
Teams managed
1908-1910	Denmark B 93 Lille OSC
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Charles Albert "Charlie" Williams (19 November 1873 — 1952) was an English football goalkeeper and manager, who was the first goalkeeper known to have scored a goal in a first-class match.^[1]

[edit] Biography

Williams started his career as a youth with minor clubs Phoenix and Erith before joining Royal Arsenal in 1891. He spent his first two seasons in and out of the first team, and started the 1893-94 season, Arsenal's first in the Football League, as regular goalkeeper, being in goal for Arsenal's very first game against Newcastle United on September 2, 1893.

However, Williams was in goal for some of Arsenal's most heavy defeats that season, including a 0-6 defeat to Newcastle United and a 0-5 loss to Liverpool. Arsenal signed Harry Storer in the 1894 close season and duly sold Williams on to Manchester City; he had played 23 first-class matches in total for Arsenal. At City, he was regular goalkeeper for eight seasons, and while there he won a Second Division winners' medal in 1898-99, and became the first goalkeeper in League history to score a goal, with a long clearance against Sunderland at Roker Park on April 14, 1900.

He later had spells with Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and Brentford. After retiring as a player, he became a manager, taking charge of the Danish national team, whom he led to a second place at the 1908 Olympics. He also later managed the Danish club B 93 and French side Lille OSC. He died in 1952 in South America, aged 78.