William Henry Lucas (15 January 1918 – 1998) was a Welsh international footballer in the late 1940s and 1950s. During his career, Lucas made over 400 appearances in The Football League during spells with Swindon Town, Swansea Town and Newport County and attained seven caps for Wales as well as eight wartime caps. After his retirement from playing, he went on to manage two of his former clubs, Newport County and Swansea Town.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Henry Lucas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 15 January 1918 | ||
| Place of birth | Newport, Wales | ||
| Date of death | 1998 (aged 79–80) | ||
| Place of death | Wales | ||
| Position(s) | Wing half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1936–1937 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| 1937–1948 | Swindon Town | 141 | (32) |
| 1948–1953 | Swansea Town | 205 | (35) |
| 1953–1958 | Newport County | 93 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 1948–1950 | Wales | 7 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1953–1961 | Newport County | ||
| 1962–1967 | Newport County | ||
| 1967–1969 | Swansea Town | ||
| 1970–1974 | Newport County | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editClub
editA wing half, he began his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers but left the club without making an appearance. Lucas instead joined Swindon Town where he established himself in the first team. His spell with the club was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II and, after just over one season with club following the return of The Football League in 1946, Swansea Town manager Billy McCandless paid a then club record fee of £11,000 to bring him to Vetch Field.[2] In his first season, he captained the side to the Division Three South title and in following years also won two Welsh Cup's.[3] In December 1953 he joined Newport County as player-manager and made 93 appearances for Newport scoring 6 goals.[4]
During the war he was a guest-player for Lovell's Athletic, the works team for Lovell's sweet factory in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales.[5]
International
editLucas' first participation for Wales came in a wartime international match against England at Ninian Park on 9 May 1942, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1–0 victory.[6] He went on to play in a further seven wartime matches for Wales before winning his first full cap on 23 October 1948 in a 3–1 defeat to Scotland in the 1949 British Home Championship. He gained a total of seven caps for Wales, his final appearance coming on 15 November 1950 in a 4–2 defeat to England.[2]
Managerial career
editFollowing his retirement from playing, Lucas became full-time manager of Newport County until 1961 when he resigned due to a lack of support and what he perceived as a general apathy surrounding the club.[7] He returned to the club a year later following the sacking of Bobby Evans after they finished bottom of the Third Division and spent another five years in charge before taking over at Swansea Town. Lucas later took charge of Newport for a third and final spell in 1970, working without wages for the first six months due to financial problems at the club, which lasted until 1974.[2]
Managerial statistics
edit| Team | Country | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Swansea Town | Wales | February 1967 | March 1969 | 96 | 33 | 24 | 39 | 34.38 | |
| Total | 96 | 33 | 24 | 39 | 34.38 | ||||
Outside football
editIn 1951, following his move back to South Wales to join Swansea Town, Lucas took over the Black Horse Inn, in Newport, with his wife Edith.[7]
Honours
edit- Swansea City
- Football League Third Division South Winner: 1
- Welsh Cup Winner: 1
- 1950
References
edit- ^ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Hayes, Dean P. (2004). Wales The Complete Who's Who of Footballers Since 1946. Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-3700-9.
- ^ "Past players". Swansea City A.F.C. Archived from the original on 9 March 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ "Billy Lucas". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ Rutherford, Andy. "Lovell's Athletic: Lost Newport football club in team photos". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Wales 1-0 England". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ a b "County past 1912 to 1989". Newport County A.F.C. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2010.