Wilf Billington

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Wilf Billington

| image = Wilf Billington.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Billington in 1955

| full_name = Wilfred Francis Billington

| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|1|28|df=y}}

| birth_place = Blackburn, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|10|1|1930|1|28|df=y}}

| death_place = Australia

| height = 6 ft 1 in

| position = Goalkeeper

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = Rochdale

| years1 = 1948–1954

| clubs1 = Blackburn Rovers

| caps1 = 0

| goals1 = 0

| years2 = 1954–1958

| clubs2 = Workington

| caps2 = 53

| goals2 = 0

| years3 = 1958–1959

| clubs3 = Headington United

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 =

| clubs4 = Balgownie Rangers

| caps4 =

| goals4 =

| years5 =

| clubs5 = South Coast United

| caps5 =

| goals5 =

| years6 =

| clubs6 = Melbourne Hellas

| caps6 =

| goals6 =

| totalcaps = 53+

| totalgoals = 0+

}}

Wilfred Francis Billington (28 January 1930 – 1 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in England and Australia. He began his career with Rochdale, later playing for Blackburn Rovers, Workington Reds, and Headington United.{{Cite news |date=19 December 2023 |title=Sports Personality of the Year 2023: Remembering the stars we have lost |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sports-personality/67726877 |access-date=2023-12-22}}{{Hugman|1570|accessdate=28 October 2023}}{{ENFA}}{{Cite web |last=Anson |first=John |date=22 July 2010 |title=Ex-Blackburn Rovers keeper Wilf saves memories of Jack |url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/8286769.ex-blackburn-rovers-keeper-wilf-saves-memories-jack/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Lancashire Telegraph}} In Australia, Billington was best known as the goalkeeper for South Coast United's championship-winning side led by former England international Jim Kelly.{{Cite news |date=1966 |title=Sydney Club Patrol |work=Soccer World |url=https://archive.org/details/soccer-world-1966/Soccer%20World%2C%20Vol.%2009%2C%20No.%2032%2C%20Friday%20August%2026th%201966/page/6/mode/2up |access-date=2023-12-25 |via=Internet Archive}}

Early life

Born in Blackburn, Billington attended St Alban's School. His schoolmates included Jack Walker, who went on to help the Blackburn Rovers win the Premier League in 1995.

Professional career

After a brief stint at Rochdale, Billington joined Blackburn Rovers, his hometown club.{{Cite web |date=11 October 2023 |title=Workington Reds goalie Wilf Billington dies aged 93 |url=https://cumbriacrack.com/2023/10/11/workington-reds-goalie-wilf-billington-dies-aged-93/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Cumbria Crack}} He was with Blackburn for six years, playing regularly for the reserve team in the Central League.

In the summer of 1954, Billington was signed by Workington manager Bill Shankly as the cover goalkeeper for Malcolm Newlands.{{Cite book |last=Bowler |first=Dave |title=Shanks: The Authorised Biography of Bill Shankly |publisher=Orion |year=1996 |isbn=0-75280-246-1 |location=London |pages=175}} After Newlands was injured, Billington played the opening match of the 1954–1955 season at Darlington, which the club won 2–1. He made a total of 19 appearances during his first season, and 24 during his second.

Eighteen months into his transfer to Workington, the Liverpool Echo noted that Billington was regarded as "extremely promising", commending his performance at Prenton Park during his first season.{{Cite news |date=15 October 1955 |title=Workington's Challenge at Prenton Park |work=Liverpool Echo |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19551015/296/0019 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-12-25 |via=British Newspaper Archive}} Similarly, the Derby Evening Telegraph called Billington one of Shankly's best signings, noting that he had "developed into an extremely sound and reliable goalkeeper".{{Cite news |date=1 October 1955 |title=Today's visitors to the baseball ground |work=Derby Evening Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-telegraph-todays-visitors-to-th/137387433/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Shankly himself had told the press following the hard-fought match against the Tranmere Rovers that he predicted Billington would be selected as England goalkeeper within two years' time.{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Phil |title=Emlyn Hughes: A Tribute to Crazy Horse |date=2006 |publisher=History Press |isbn=9780750959810}} In December 1955, when Shankly was confirmed to be moving to Huddersfield Town, the Lincolnshire Echo called Billington "one of the best [goalkeepers] in the Third North" and suggested that he was a natural choice to follow suit.{{Cite news |date=24 December 1955 |title=Workington players for Huddersf'ld |work=Lincolnshire Echo |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000332/19551224/004/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-12-25 |via=British Newspaper Archive}}

Over the course of his five-year Workington Reds career, Billington made a total of 55 League and Cup appearances, and kept 16 clean sheets. He also made 75 appearances for the Workington Reserves playing in the North Eastern League. In his final match for the club in 1958, he conceded 6 goals in a 6–3 defeat at Mansfield Town.

Billington moved south after his release by Workington manager Joe Harvey, transferring to Headington United, which later became Oxford United, for the 1958–59 season. He decided to emigrate to Australia after a two-year offer to move there. Later deciding to live there permanently, he played for Balgownie Rangers, South Coast United and Melbourne Hellas.{{Cite web |date=10 October 2023 |title=Reds mourn fifties 'keeper |url=https://www.workingtonafc.com/reds-mourn-fifties-keeper/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Workington AFC}}

In 1963, Billington played for South Coast United in the New South Wales grand final, defeating APIA Leichhardt 4–0 for the title in front of a crowd of 30,158 at the Sydney Sports Ground. This broke the Australian attendance record at the time.{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Martin |date=4 July 1990 |title=Kelly back in Wollongong |work=Australian Soccer Weekly |url=https://archive.org/details/australian-soccer-weekly-1990/Australian%20Soccer%20Weekly%2C%20Vol.%2011%2C%20No.%200437%2C%20Wednesday%20July%204th%201990/page/2/mode/2up?q=%22wilf+Billington%22 |access-date=2023-12-23 |via=Internet Archive}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/soccer-world-1963/Soccer%20World%2C%20Vol.%2006%2C%20No.%2035%2C%20Friday%20September%2027th%201963/mode/1up?view=theater|title=Cocky APIA pulverised by fast-raiding S.Coast|last=Gautier|first=Lou|date=27 September 1963|accessdate=30 December 2023|work=Soccer World|page=5|volume=6|issue=35}} The following week, Billington played in the 1963 Australia Cup against APIA, who enacted revenge against South Coast United. Whilst Billington played well, saving point-blank shots from Leo Baumgartner and John Giacometti, he was unable to prevent a 0–2 loss to APIA.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/soccer-world-1963/Soccer%20World%2C%20Vol.%2006%2C%20No.%2036%2C%20Friday%20October%204th%201963/page/5/mode/1up?view=theater|title=APIA Gains Sweet Revenge|work=Soccer World|volume=6|issue=36|date=4 October 1963|accessdate=30 December 2023|page=5}}

Personal life

Billington returned to England in the mid-1960s after leaving South Coast United, but announced his return to Australia in 1966.{{Cite news |date=September 2, 1966 |title=Sydney Club Patrol |work=Soccer World |url=https://archive.org/details/soccer-world-1966/Soccer%20World%2C%20Vol.%2009%2C%20No.%2033%2C%20Friday%20September%202nd%201966/page/n5/mode/2up |access-date=2023-12-25 |via=Internet Archive}} He lived in Wollongong and worked in a steelworks, first as a fitter and then as a salesman.

At age 55, he obtained an honours degree from Wollongong University in Australia, and later worked for a politician. His son also played as a goalkeeper.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Phil |date=5 April 1983 |title=News from Illawarra |work=Australian Soccer Weekly |url=https://archive.org/details/australian-soccer-weekly-1983/Australian%20Soccer%20Weekly%2C%20Vol.%2004%2C%20No.%200125%2C%20Tuesday%20April%205th%201983/page/2/mode/2up?q=%22wilf+Billington%22 |access-date=2023-12-23 |via=Internet Archive}}

At the beginning of October 2023, Billington died at the age of 93.