Bill Slater (footballer)

William John "Bill" Slater (also commonly known as W. J. Slater), CBE (born 29 April 1927) is an English former professional footballer. Slater made the majority of his appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom he won three league championships and the FA Cup.

Slater started his career as a 16-year-old amateur at Blackpool in 1944, and played in the 1951 FA Cup Final in which Blackpool lost to Newcastle United, becoming the last amateur to play in an FA Cup Final at Wembley. Another record he jointly holds is Blackpool's fastest-ever goal: eleven seconds into a game against Stoke City on 10 December 1949. This was matched by James Quinn in 1995. Slater made his Blackpool debut on 10 September 1949, in a goalless draw at Aston Villa. As a nippy inside-forward, he competed with Allan Brown for the number 10 position for the majority of his time at the seaside.

After finishing college, in December 1951 he moved to Brentford where he made 30 appearances, and then, in August 1952, joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as a part-time professional. He remained at Molineux until 1963, making 339 total appearances and scoring 25 goals. He won three Football League championships (1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59), as well as being runners-up (1954–55, 1959–60). He also won an FA Cup (1960, against Blackburn Rovers, in the year he was voted Footballer of the Year). He gained 12 caps for England (including four in the 1958 World Cup) and 20 amateur caps.

At the World Cup he played all four of England's matches, the first two at left back, then in midfield. The Brazilian match observer Eduardo Santos named him the most "perverse player" he had ever seen. Slater's game basically consisted of stamping his opponents heels and pulling them to the ground. This caused Brazil to renounce the use of their right attacker Garrincha to protect him in the group match against England, which ended 0–0. Slater also represented Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He also played cricket for Warwickshire's second XI, in both the Second XI Championship and the Minor Counties Championship.

In July 1963, he returned to Brentford. He later played for Northern Nomads. In 1982, Slater was appointed an OBE for his services to sport. A CBE followed in 1998. In February 2009, his daughter Barbara Slater was chosen to be the first female Director of Sport at the BBC.

• First Division
  • Champions: 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59
  • Runners-up: 1954–55, 1959–60
• FA Cup
  • Winners: 1960

• FA Cup
  • Runners-up: 1951

Other

• Order of the British Empire: 1982 Officer (Civil)
• Order of the British Empire: 1998 Commander (Civil)
• FWA Footballer of the Year: 1960