Rogers: William (Billy)

WW2 Guest: 1943-1944 (Leeds United War-time Guest Player Details)

Wing Half

Born: Ulverston: 03-07-1919

Debut: v Sunderland (a): 28-08-1943

5ft 8ins, 11st 8lbs.

Billy Rogers started with Preston North End in the 1937-38 season but before he could make a first team appearance he was snapped up by Blackburn Rovers new Manager Bob Crompton, who was out to restore his teams fortunes by signing Sam Hardy from Aston Villa, Jack Weddle from Portsmouth and Nobby Clarke as well as Rogers, during the close season. He was part of the Rovers Second Division Championship winning side of 1938-39 but had to wait until after the war to officially sample the top flight, but had played all three games of the aborted 1939-40 season, scoring twice. He proved to be a firm favourite at Ewood Park on either side of World War Two and he amassed seventy-three appearances and notched twenty-four goals in peace-time, excluding the two goals in the three games of the aborted 1939-40 season. During the War Years he played, whenever available, for Blackburn Rovers, scoring seven goals in seventeen appearances in 1939-40, eight in seventeen in 1940-41, six in eighteen in 1941-42, one goal in a single appearance in 1942-43, five in nine games in 1943-44, did not play in the 1944-45 season and managed one goal in eight appearances in the 1945-46 season. A total of twenty-eight goals in seventy appearances He was also a member of the Rovers 1939-40 side that went all the way to the Final at Wembley in the War Cup. He was at Outside-Right on 20th April 1940 in a 5-1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the First Round, first leg and was also there for the 3-1 win in the second leg at Burnden Park a week later. He was also on the Right-Wing as Rovers slumped to a 1-2 home defeat by Manchester United on 4th May 1940 in the first leg of the Second Round, but was also there as they pulled off a 3-1 win in the reverse leg a week later. He did not play in the 3-2 win over Sunderland in the Third Round on 18th May 1940 nor the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in the Fourth Round on 25th May 1940 or the Semi-Final 1-0 win over Newcastle United on 1st June 1940, but was back at Outside-Right for the 0-1 Final loss to West Ham United at Wembley on 8th June 1940. During the war years he played two games for Leeds United in the 1943-44 Football League Northern Section (First Championship). He made his debut at Centre Forward on 28th August 1943 in a 1-7 defeat by Sunderland at Roker Park on the opening day of the season and retained his place in the team but moved to Outside Right the following week in the reverse fixture when United again lost heavily by 1-5 at Elland Road. He had also guested for several other teams during the War Years. In 1940-41 he had played once each for Huddersfield Town and Hull City, without scoring. He scored twice in three appearances for Doncaster Rovers in 1941-42 and once in three games for Bradford City in 1942-43 and after his games for Leeds he also scored once in two games while guesting for Barnsley in 1943-44. After World War Two he returned to Ewood Park before moving to Barrow in the 1947-48 season and there too he gave great service scoring fourteen goals in one hundred and ninety-six appearances and formed one of the club's best half back lines of Rogers, Wilson and Collins. He retired in 1953 and died in 1974.