Billy Callender

Billy Callender
Personal information
Date of birth5 January 1903
Place of birthPrudhoe, England
Date of death26 July 1932 (aged 29)
Place of deathLondon UK
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Youth career
?–1923Prudhoe Town
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1923–1932Crystal Palace202(0)
National team
1926The Football League XI?(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Billy Callender (born 5 January 1903[1] — died 26 July 1932) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made 202 Football League appearances for Crystal Palace between 1923 and 1932.[1]

Callender was born in Prudhoe, Northumberland and was playing in local football with Prudhoe Town[2] when he was signed by Crystal Palace in 1923.[1] Initially, he was understudy to Jack Alderson and made only two appearances in his first two seasons at the club.[1] He became a regular in the 1925–26 season and was ever-present in 1926–27, when he also played for the Football League representative team.[1] Callender continued to be a regular in the Crystal Palace team until the end of the 1931–32 season.[1]

On 26 July 1932,[3] Callender committed suicide at the club ground, following the death of his fiancée[1] from polio.[2] He was found hanged in the team dressing room after training.[2][1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. The Breedon Books Publishing Company. p. 67. ISBN 0907969542.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 November 2011 "Eagles fan writes book in memory of long-serving Crystal Palace goalie". croydonguardian.co.uk. Croydon Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  3. Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. The Breedon Books Publishing Company. p. 320. ISBN 0907969542.