William Lavery

William Lavery
Personal information
Full name	William Lavery
Date of birth	c. 1887
Place of birth	Thornton, Lancashire, England
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Right-back
Youth career
	Fylde
Senior career*
Years	Team
1906–1909	Preston North End
1909–1911	West Ham United
1911–1913	Belfast Celtic
1913	Middlesbrough
1913–1916	Raith Rovers
1919–1921	St Mirren
1921	Johnstone
1921–1923	Port Vale
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Lavery (born circa. 1887; date of death unknown) was an English footballer who played for Fylde, Preston North End, Leicester Fosse, West Ham United, Belfast Celtic, Middlesbrough, Raith Rovers, St Mirren, Johnstone and Port Vale in the period before and after World War I. During that war, he served with other footballers and fans in McCrae's Battalion of the Royal Scots.^[3]

Career

Lavery played for Fylde, Preston North End, Leicester Fosse (on trial), West Ham United, where he made 17 Southern League appearances, and two in the FA Cup, Belfast Celtic (in two spells), Middlesbrough, Raith Rovers, St Mirren and had a trial with Johnstone, before joining Port Vale in December 1921.^[1] He made his debut on 24 December, in a 3–2 defeat by Burnley at Turf Moor, filling in for Bob Pursell.^[1] He played the next four of five Second Division games, but did not feature again in the remainder of the 1921–22 season.^[1] During the next season he only played one FA Cup game, a 2–0 defeat to Wrexham at The Old Recreation Ground, before being released in the summer.^[1]

Source:^[4]^[5]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Preston North End	1906–07	First Division	14	0	1	0	0	0	15	0
	1908–09	First Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	Total		22	0	1	0	0	0	23	0
West Ham United	1909–10	Southern League First Division	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	0
	1910–11	First Division	15	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	Total		17	0	2	0	0	0	19	0
Middlesbrough	1913–14	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Port Vale	1921–22	Second Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	1921–22	Second Division	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		5	0	1	0	0	0	6	0

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
^ "The Prospects". Athletic News. 14 August 1922. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
^ "Wear These Shirts With Pride". raithrovers.net. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
^ William Lavery at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
^ "William Lavery". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 24 April 2018.