Walter Bussey

{{short description|English footballer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Walter Bussey

| image =

| fullname = Walter Bussey

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1904|12|6}}

| birth_place = Eckington, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|1||1904|12|6|df=y}}

| death_place = Exeter, England

| position = Inside forward

| height = 5 ft 10 in{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sunday-dispatch-football-guide-1936-vii/134492706/ |title=Swansea Town. Eleven recruits: six are forwards |newspaper=Sunday Dispatch Football Guide |location=London |date=23 August 1936 |page=vii |via=Newspapers.com}}

| years1 = 1924 | clubs1 = Denaby United | caps1 = | goals1 =

| years2 = 1924–1932 | clubs2 = Stoke City | caps2 = 185 | goals2 = 46

| years3 = 1933–1934 | clubs3 = Blackpool | caps3 = 25 | goals3 = 8

| years4 = 1934–1936 | clubs4 = Swansea Town | caps4 = 72 | goals4 = 18

| years5 = 1936–1938 | clubs5 = Exeter City | caps5 = 75 | goals5 = 16

| totalcaps = 357| totalgoals = 88

}}

Walter Bussey (6 December 1904 – January 1982) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Blackpool, Exeter City, Swansea Town and Stoke City. He made 185 appearances for Stoke.{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=Tony|title=The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City|year=1994|publisher=Lion Press|isbn=0-9524151-0-0}}{{cite book|title=Stoke City 101 Golden Greats|year=2002|publisher=Desert Islands Books|isbn=1-874287554}}

Career

Bussey was born in Eckington on the Yorkshire border and began working as a collier. Whilst employed in the mines Bussey played amateur football with teams in the Doncaster area. He was spotted by scouts at Stoke City and signed for the club in March 1924 initially retaining his amateur status so he could also turn out for Denaby United. He eventually signed a professional contract in November 1925 becoming one of 34 players used by Tom Mather in 1925–26 as Stoke suffered relegation from the Second Division. Bussey broke into the side in 1926–27 campaign scoring eight goals in 15 appearances as Stoke went on to win the Third Division North title.

Despite lacking in height Bussey became a vital member of Mather's team being used mainly as a playmaker and provided many goals for Charlie Wilson whilst also having a decent scoring record himself. His most prolific season in a Stoke shirt came in the 1928–29 season with saw him score 12 goals in 38 appearances. Whilst Bussey was a clear favourite with Mather and the supporters he was notoriously inconsistent being described as having "spasms of form and scoring".

With the emergence of Harry Ware and Tommy Sale, Bussey left Stoke in October 1933 for Sandy MacFarlane's Blackpool. He scored 9 goals in 27 appearances for the Seasiders before moving on to Swansea Town. He spent two season at the Vetch Field before ending his career with Exeter City. He later worked as a painter and decorator in the Exeter area until his death in January 1982.

Career statistics

Source:{{ENFA}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
rowspan="2"|Club

!rowspan="2"|Season

!colspan="3"|League

!colspan="2"|FA Cup

!colspan="2"|Other

!colspan="2"|Total

DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
rowspan="9"|Stoke City

|1925–26

|Second Division

|4

000colspan=2|—40
1926–27

|Third Division North

|15

800colspan=2|—158
1927–28

|Second Division

|21

841colspan=2|—259
1928–29

|Second Division

|37

1111colspan=2|—3812
1929–30

|Second Division

|31

610colspan=2|—326
1930–31

|Second Division

|39

530colspan=2|—425
1931–32

|Second Division

|37

832colspan=2|—4010
1932–33

|Second Division

|1

000colspan=2|—10
colspan=2|Total

!185

46124colspan=2|—||19750
Blackpool

|1933–34

|Second Division

|25

821colspan=2|—279
rowspan="4"|Swansea Town

|1934–35

|Second Division

|37

721colspan=2|—398
1935–36

|Second Division

|32

1100colspan=2|—3211
1936–37

|Second Division

|3

000colspan=2|—30
colspan=2|Total

!72

1821colspan=2|—||7419
rowspan="4"|Exeter City

|1936–37

|Third Division South

|20

531colspan=2|—236
1937–38

|Third Division South

|36

62010396
1938–39

|Third Division South

|19

50010205
colspan=2|Total

!75

1651208217
colspan=3|Career total

!357

882172038095

Honours

References