Willis Edwards

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Willis Edwards
Personal information
Full name Willis Edwards
Date of birth April 28, 1903
Place of birth    Newton, Derbyshire, England
Date of death    September 27, 1988 (aged 85)
Place of death    Leeds, England
Playing position Right half
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1919–1925
1925–1943		 Chesterfield
Leeds United		 070 (?)
417 (6)   
National team
1926–1929 England 016 (0)
Teams managed
1947–1948
1958		 Leeds United
Leeds United (Caretaker)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Willis Edwards (28 April 1903 – 27 September 1988) was an English former professional football player and manager.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Willis Edwards was born in the mining village of Newton, North East Derbyshire, not far from Chesterfield and Alfreton. Like many boys in the area, he left school to go down the pit but he was soon spotted by Chesterfield as a teenager, playing for the village football team Newton Rangers.

[edit] Chesterfield

Having been rejected by a Sheffield United scout as “too small”, he joined Chesterfield F.C., where he made his debut in 1919 at the age of just 16. He went on to play 70 league games for the Spireites before joining Leeds United towards the end of the 1924–25 season.

[edit] Leeds United

Edwards played for the Elland Road club for 14 years, during which time he was never booked or sent off. He went on to make over 400 appearances and he was widely regarded as the best wing-half in the country, making his England debut in 1926 and going on to receive 16 caps. Edwards continued turning out for Leeds during the war years and remained at the club after the war. On retiring as a player, he became the Leeds United assistant coach and trainer and he took over the managerial reigns when Billy Hampson stepped down in May 1947. His time as manager was relatively unsuccessful and he resumed his place in the backroom staff in April 1948, where he acted as a scout for the club. He only ended his association with Leeds in 1960, after serving the club for 35 years.

[edit] Life after football

In his later working years, Edwards worked in Moorhouses jam factory on Old Lane in Beeston and he died in Leeds on 27 September 1988, aged 85.

[edit] Managerial stats

Team Nat From To Record
G W L D Win %
Leeds United Flag of England May 1947 April 1948 47 13 26 8 27.66
Leeds United(Caretaker) Flag of England June 1958 December 1958 10 5 4 1 50.00

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Billy Hampson		 Leeds United A.F.C. manager
1947–1948		 Succeeded by
Major Frank Buckley
Preceded by
Raich Carter		 Leeds United A.F.C. caretaker manager
1958		 Succeeded by
Bill Lambton
v • d • e
Leeds United A.F.C. – Managers

Ray (1919–20) • Fairclough (1920–1927) • Ray (1927–35) • Hampson (1935–47) • Edwards (1947–48) • Buckley (1948–53) • Carter (1953–58) • Lambton (1958–59) • Taylor (1959–61) • Revie (1961–74) • Clough (1974) • Armfield (1974–78) • Stein (1978) • Adamson (1978–80) • Clarke (1980–82) • Gray (1982–85) • Bremner (1985–88) • Wilkinson (1988–96) • Graham (1996–98) • O'Leary (1998–2002) • Venables (2002–03) • Reid (2003) • Gray (2003–04) • Blackwell (2004–06) • Wise (2006–08) • McAllister (2008–)
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