Alvan Williams

Alvan Williams
Personal information
Full name Alvan Williams[1]
Date of birth (1932-11-21)21 November 1932
Place of birth Beaumaris, Wales
Date of death 2003
Place of death Bala, Wales
Playing position Centre Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1955–1956 Bury 2 (1)
1956–1957 Wrexham 13 (7)
1957–1960 Bradford Park Avenue 92 (21)
1960–1961 Exeter City 19 (1)
Teams managed
1964–1965 Hartlepools United
1965–1967 Southend United
1967–1968 Wrexham

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Alvan Williams (21 November 1932 – December 2003) was a Welsh former professional footballer and manager. During his career, he made over 100 appearances in The Football League,[2] later going on to manage Hartlepools United, Southend United and Wrexham.

Early life

Alvan Willams was the younger son of William Williams, a vicar from Anglesey. In his early life he played many sports, from cricket to boxing, but his passion was for football. He played for many clubs in Anglesey as a goalkeeper, whilst his older brother, Gavin, played as centre-half, often for the same teams. Gavin went on to play for Stalybridge, whilst Alvan joined the Army as part of his national service where he played as a centre forward and had a fantastic scoring record. He was based in Woolwich and was due to be deployed to Korea, but was recalled before his boat set sail.

Playing career

Alvan Williams began his career with Bury, making two league appearances for the club before moving to Division Three North side Wrexham in 1956. After spending three years with Bradford Park Avenue, injury forced him to retire in 1961 at the age of 28, while playing for Exeter City.

Managerial career

After a spell as assistant manager at Bangor City, Williams was appointed manager of Division Four side Hartlepool United in February 1964. He remained with the club until May 1965. He nearly returned to the club in 1966 but, after failing to agree terms, the club instead handed Brian Clough his first job as manager.[3] In June 1965 he became manager of Southend United but became the first manager in the club's history to suffer relegation, and he later left the post to join Wrexham. However, he was forced to resign as Wrexham manager after being cautioned for drink-driving, which led to a falling out with the Wrexham chairman. After retiring from football he ran a number of pubs and clubs from Blackpool to London. In the 1970s he was involved in an unsavoury incident in his London bar which led to a student’s death. He was initially charged murder, and his trial went to the Old Bailey. However, due to lack of evidence the charge was reduced to affray, and he was released on bail. Later, Williams ran the Ship Inn in Bala with wife Elizabeth, and other pubs in the north Wales area.[4] Williams will also be well known for his ability to spot young talented footballers. The Football Associaition of Wales awarded him a special merit award for his contribution to the game shortly before his death in 2003.

Managerial statistics

Team Country From To Record
GWDLWin %
Hartlepools United England February 1964 May 1965 63 20 17 26 31.75
Southend United England June 1965 March 1967 89 38 12 39 42.7
Wrexham Wales April 1967 September 1968 61 26 18 17 42.62
Total 213 84 47 82 39.44

References

  1. ↑ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  2. ↑ "Alvan Williams". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  3. ↑ "Hartlepool history highlights penalty misery". The Northern Echo. 2009-11-21. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  4. ↑ "Former managers". Southend United F.C. 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2010-06-21.

External links

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