Billy Stage
{{Short description|English footballer}}
{{Other uses|William Stage (disambiguation){{!}}William Stage}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Billy Stage
| fullname = William Stage
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1893|3|22}}
| birth_place = Whitby, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1957|05|12|1893|3|22}}
| death_place = Blackley, England
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=7}}{{cite news |title=The lure of promotion. Bury |newspaper=Athletic News |location=Manchester |date=13 August 1923 |page=6}}
| position = Inside forward
| years1 = 1913–1914 | clubs1 = Middlesbrough | caps1 = 3 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1919–1920 | clubs2 = Hibernian | caps2 = 42 | goals2 = 4
| years3 = 1920–1921 | clubs3 = St Bernard's | caps3 = | goals3 =
| years4 = 1921–1928 | clubs4 = Bury | caps4 = 202 | goals4 = 33
| years5 = 1928–1930 | clubs5 = Burnley | caps5 = 25 | goals5 = 1
| years6 = 1930–1931 | clubs6 = Southampton | caps6 = 4 | goals6 = 1
| years7 = | clubs7 = Darwen | caps7 = | goals7 =
| years8 = | clubs8 = Rossendale United | caps8 = | goals8 =
| years9 = | clubs9 = Fleetwood | caps9 = | goals9 =
}}
William Stage (22 March 1893 – 12 May 1957){{cite book |last1=Chalk |first1=Gary |last2=Holley |first2=Duncan |last3=Bull |first3 =David |name-list-style=amp |title=All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC| year=2013| location=Southampton |publisher=Hagiology Publishing|isbn=978-0-9926-8640-6 |page=179}} was an English professional association footballer who played as an inside forward. He spent the largest part of his career with Bury where he became team captain and helped them reach the Football League First Division in 1924.
Football career
Stage was born in Whitby in North Yorkshire and joined nearby Middlesbrough in April 1913 as an amateur, signing a professional contract in December 1913.{{cite book | title=The Alphabet of the Saints|last1= Holley |first1= Duncan |last2= Chalk|first2= Gary| publisher= ACL & Polar Publishing |year=1992| isbn=0-9514862-3-3|page=319}} He only made three appearances for 'Boro before World War I caused league football to be suspended.{{cite book |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |last=Joyce |first=Michael |year=2004 |publisher=Tony Brown|location=Nottingham |isbn=1-899468-67-6|page=247}}
After the war, he joined Scottish club Hibernian, making his Scottish League debut at the start of the 1919–20 season. He played in every Hibs match during that season, scoring four league goals, plus one in the cup.{{cite web|title=Games involving William Stage in 1919/1920 |url=http://www.fitbastats.com/hibs/player_games.php?playerid=353 |work=Hibernian Player statistics |publisher=fitbastats.com|accessdate=4 October 2012}} Despite having been "ever-present", Stage left Hibernian at the end of the season; he then joined St Bernard's, of the Central League. St Bernard's were re-admitted to the Second Division in 1921.
In October 1921, Stage returned to England to join Bury, then playing in the Football League Second Division. In 1924, Stage was part of the Bury team that gained the runners-up position, thus earning promotion to the First Division. Stage went on to become captain of the club, winning the Lancashire Cup in 1926.{{cite book|last=Dineen|first=Robert|title=Reg Harris: The rise and fall of Britain's greatest cyclist|date=5 July 2012|isbn=9781448148158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bXFA99YzkQC&q=%22Billy+Stage%22football&pg=PT36|accessdate=4 October 2012}}
In June 1928, after making over 200 appearances for Bury, Stage joined First Division rivals, Burnley where he remained for two seasons before dropping into the Second Division when he joined Southampton in July 1930.
By now nearing the end of his career, Stage spent a year at The Dell, mostly assisting the reserves. Described as "a fetcher and forager on the field", Stage only made four first-team appearances, twice in September and twice in November. His final professional appearance came on 22 November 1930, when he scored in a 3–1 defeat at Charlton Athletic.{{cite book | title=Saints – A complete record|last1= Chalk|first1= Gary|last2=Holley|first2= Duncan | publisher= Breedon Books| year=1987|isbn= 0-907969-22-4|page=85}}
Later career
After retiring from professional football, Stage returned to Lancashire where he settled in Bury, buying the Stanley Arms pub with his savings. He continued to play football at a non-league level, turning out for Darwen, Rossendale United and Fleetwood.{{cite web|title= William Stage profile |url=http://ihibs.co.uk/player.php?playerid=353 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825002545/http://ihibs.co.uk/player.php?playerid=353 |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 August 2018 |work=Hibernian Player statistics |publisher=fitbastats.com|accessdate=4 October 2012}}
His daughter, Florence, married the professional cyclist Reg Harris in April 1946.
Honours
Bury
- Football League Second Division runners-up: 1923–24
- Lancashire Senior Cup winners: 1926.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074605/http://nwfootballmemorabilia.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1020 Photograph of Stage on a cigarette card]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stage, Billy}}
Category:Sportspeople from Whitby, North Yorkshire
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:Middlesbrough F.C. players
Category:Hibernian F.C. players
Category:St Bernard's F.C. players
Category:Southampton F.C. players
Category:Darwen F.C. (1870) players
Category:Rossendale United F.C. players
Category:Fleetwood Town F.C. players
Category:English Football League players
Category:Scottish Football League players