Bill Caton

William Clifford Caton (11 September 1924 – 16 August 2011) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Carlisle United, Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City.[1]

Bill Caton
Personal information
Full name William Clifford Caton[1]
Date of birth (1924-09-11)11 September 1924[1]
Place of birth Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Date of death 16 August 2011(2011-08-16) (aged 86)
Place of death Cross Heath, Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1947–1949 Stoke City 22 (2)
1949–1952 Carlisle United 61 (15)
1952–1953 Chesterfield 7 (0)
1953–1954 Worcester City
1954–1955 Crewe Alexandra 39 (9)
1955–1957 Gresley Rovers 56 (24)
1957–1958 Mossley 4 (0)
Total 189 (50)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Army career

Caton joined the Second Field Regiment Royal Artillery during World War II and was captured and incarcerated by the Nazis in Italy.[1] He managed to escape the prison camp by hiding in a vehicle and jumping out of it once it had left the camp.[1]

Football career

After leaving the Army in 1947 Caton started playing football for his local side Stoke City however he was never a favourite with manager Bob McGrory being used mostly as a reserve team player and left for Bill Shankly's Carlisle United in 1949.[1] He later went on to play for Chesterfield, Worcester City, Crewe Alexandra, Gresley Rovers and Mossley.[1] Caton was able to throw the ball a long way similar to that of Rory Delap.[2] He died on 16 August 2011 at the age of 86.[3]

Career statistics

Source:[4]

Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City[1] 1947–48 First Division 310031
1948–49 First Division 10100101
1949–50 First Division 900090
Total 22200222
Carlisle United 1949–50 Third Division North 310031
1950–51 Third Division North 31720337
1951–52 Third Division North 27710287
Total 6115306415
Chesterfield 1952–53 Third Division North 7030100
Crewe Alexandra 1954–55 Third Division North 39910399
Career total 129267013626

References

  1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. "Meet Bill Caton, Stoke's golden oldie who could throw the ball further than Rory". thisisstaffordshire.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  3. "Farewell to Stoke City's original 'long throw wizard'". The Sentinel. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  4. Bill Caton at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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