William "Billy" Lansdowne, Jr. (born 28 April 1959) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former professional footballer who played as a striker. Active in both England and Sweden, Lansdowne scored 45 goals in 169 career league games.

Career

Born in Epping

Epping

Epping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood....

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, Lansdowne began his career with West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

, making his professional debut for the club on 28 April 1979. Lansdowne later played for Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 and Gillingham

Gillingham F.C.

Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...

, and made a total of 47 appearances in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for all three clubs.

Lansdowne later played in Sweden for Kalmar FF

Kalmar FF

Kalmar FF is a Swedish football club located in Kalmar. Formed 10 January 1910, the club has won three national cup titles and 1 league title. Kalmar FF currently play in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan....

, and was top scorer

Allsvenskan top scorer

The following is a list of top scorers in Allsvenskan, the highest Swedish division of football....

 in the Swedish league

Allsvenskan

Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...

 during the 1985 season, scoring ten goals.

Personal life

Lansdowne's father Bill

Bill Lansdowne

William "Bill" Lansdowne, Sr. is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.-Career:Born in Shoreditch, Lansdowne began his career in non-league football with Woodford Town, before making his professional debut in the Football League with West Ham United, making 57 league...

 was also a professional footballer, as is his son Billy, Jr.