Bill Bidmead

Bill Bidmead

Personal information
Full name	William Harold Bidmead
Date of birth	December 1882
Place of birth	West Bromwich, England
Date of death	16 March 1961 (aged 78)
Place of death	Bethnal Green, London, England
Playing position	Full back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
–	Elwells
1900	Walsall	0	(0)
–	Stourbridge
1902–1903	Brierley Hill Alliance
1903–1906	Small Heath / Birmingham	3	(0)
1906–1908	Leyton
1908–1909	Grimsby Town	1	(0)
1909–1911	Brierley Hill Alliance
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

William Harold Bidmead (December 1882 – 16 March 1961), generally known as Bill Bidmead, was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Small Heath (renamed Birmingham during his time with the club) and Grimsby Town.^[1]

Bidmead was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire. He played for Elwells, Walsall (though not in the Football League), Stourbridge and Brierley Hill Alliance before joining Small Heath in September 1903 as cover at full back for Jack Glover and Frank Stokes. Matthews describes Glover and Stokes as "generally rated as the best at club level anywhere in the country around the turn of the century". Bidmead played only three first-team games in three seasons, and moved on to Leyton in the 1906 close season. Two years later he returned to the Football League with Grimsby Town,^[2][3] but played only once before returning to Brierley Hill Alliance where he finished his career in 1911.^[1][3]

Bidmead died in Bethnal Green, London, in 1961 at the age of 78.^[3]

References

1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 25. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
2. "Sporting Paragraphs". Nottingham Evening Post. 22 May 1908. Retrieved 15 March 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
3. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.