Billy Luke
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William Luke[1] | ||
Date of birth | 17 December 1890 | ||
Place of birth | Acklington, England | ||
Date of death | January 1992[2] | (aged 101)||
Position(s) | Outside right | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Trimdon Grange | |||
1911–1912 | Bedlington United | ||
1912–1914 | Preston North End | 8 | (2) |
1914–1915 | Hartlepools United | 30 | (9) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
William Luke MM (17 December 1890 – January 1992) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Preston North End as an outside right.[1][3]
Personal life
[edit]On 28 October 1915, over a year after the outbreak of the First World War, Luke enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery and qualified as a class 2 signaller.[2] He was deployed to the Western Front during the Battle of the Somme and participated in the battle's closing action on the Ancre in November 1916.[2] Luke's unit moved to trench lines east of Arras in April 1917 and he was seriously wounded in the leg on 9 April, which led to his discharge from the army in August 1918.[2] In the aftermath of his wounding, Luke was recommended for the Military Medal and the award was gazetted on 18 July 1917.[2] At the time of his death in January 1992, Luke was the oldest-living former professional footballer in Britain.[2]
Career statistics
[edit]Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Preston North End | 1912–13[2] | Second Division | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
Hartlepools United | 1914–15[3] | North Eastern League | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 10 |
Career total | 38 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 12 |
Honours
[edit]Preston North End
References
[edit]
- English Football League players
- Men's association football outside forwards
- Bedlington United A.F.C. players
- English men's footballers
- 1890 births
- 1992 deaths
- Footballers from Northumberland
- Preston North End F.C. players
- Hartlepool United F.C. players
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Royal Field Artillery soldiers
- English centenarians
- Men centenarians
- Recipients of the Military Medal
- 20th-century English sportsmen
- English football forward, 1890s birth stubs