Walter Aveyard
Encyclopedia
Walter Aveyard was an English
footballer who made more than 100 appearances in the Football League
, playing for Sheffield Wednesday
, Birmingham City
, Port Vale
and Accrington Stanley
.
, Yorkshire
. He played football for Denaby United
before turning professional with Sheffield Wednesday
in 1938, but the Second World War interrupted his career before he played for the first-team. When competitive football resumed after the war, Aveyard made his first-team debut in the 1945–46 FA Cup, scoring twice in six games, but played only four league games in the 1946–47 season, in which he scored three goals, before leaving for Birmingham City
in April 1947. He made a promising start, scoring the only goal of his debut match against Coventry City
in August 1947 and two more goals, including another winner, in his next three games, but a thigh injury meant he missed most of the season, and he was allowed to join Port Vale
in June 1948.
He scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw at Millwall
on 21 August 1948. He quickly established himself in the first team and became the club's top scorer
for the 1948–49 season
with 13 goals. He has the honour of being the first player to score at Vale Park
, in a 1–0 win over Newport County
on 24 August 1950. However he lost his place in the side by September 1951 and was sold to Accrington Stanley
for a four-figure fee in March 1952.
Aveyard scored on debut yet again, but his form deserted him. At the end of his first complete season, Stanley finished bottom of the Third Division North
and put him on the transfer list, priced at £1000, but there were no offers. He retired from professional football in the summer of 1953.
Aveyard died in Blackpool
, Lancashire
, in 1985.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
footballer who made more than 100 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...
, playing for Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
, Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
and Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891)
Accrington Stanley was an English football club based in Accrington, Lancashire. Established in 1891, the club played in the Football League between 1921 and 1962, when the club became only the second ever to resign from the League mid-season. The club went into liquidation in 1966...
.
Playing career
Aveyard was born in HemsworthHemsworth
Hemsworth is a small town and civil parish on the edge of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the City of Wakefield, and has a population of 13,311....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. He played football for Denaby United
Denaby United F.C.
Denaby United F.C. are an English football club that originally folded in 2002 following eviction from their ground by the Denaby & Cadeby Miners' Welfare, but have since re-appeared in the Doncaster and District Senior League Division One for the 2011-12 season...
before turning professional with Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
in 1938, but the Second World War interrupted his career before he played for the first-team. When competitive football resumed after the war, Aveyard made his first-team debut in the 1945–46 FA Cup, scoring twice in six games, but played only four league games in the 1946–47 season, in which he scored three goals, before leaving for Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
in April 1947. He made a promising start, scoring the only goal of his debut match against Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
in August 1947 and two more goals, including another winner, in his next three games, but a thigh injury meant he missed most of the season, and he was allowed to join Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
in June 1948.
He scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw at Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
on 21 August 1948. He quickly established himself in the first team and became the club's top scorer
Port Vale F.C. seasons
Port Vale F.C. is an English professional association football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, playing in Football League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system, as of the 2008–09 season. The club was formed in 1876, in 1884 they took the name Burslem Port...
for the 1948–49 season
1948–49 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1948–49 season was Port Vale's thirty-seventh season of football in the Football League, and their fourth full season in the Third Division South...
with 13 goals. He has the honour of being the first player to score at Vale Park
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the home ground of Port Vale F.C., who have played at the ground since 1950....
, in a 1–0 win over Newport County
Newport County A.F.C.
Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
on 24 August 1950. However he lost his place in the side by September 1951 and was sold to Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891)
Accrington Stanley was an English football club based in Accrington, Lancashire. Established in 1891, the club played in the Football League between 1921 and 1962, when the club became only the second ever to resign from the League mid-season. The club went into liquidation in 1966...
for a four-figure fee in March 1952.
Aveyard scored on debut yet again, but his form deserted him. At the end of his first complete season, Stanley finished bottom of the Third Division North
Football League Third Division North
The Third Division North of The Football League was a tier in the English association football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran parallel to Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to one or the other according to geographical position...
and put him on the transfer list, priced at £1000, but there were no offers. He retired from professional football in the summer of 1953.
Aveyard died in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, in 1985.