William Ponting

William Ponting

Personal information
Full name	William Robert Ponting
Date of birth	1872
Place of birth	Andover, Hampshire, England
Date of death	21 March 1952
Place of death	Hendon, London, England
Playing position	Half-back
Youth career
	Andover
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
18??–1897	Ryde
1897	Southampton St. Mary's	5	(0)
1897–????	Andover
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

William Robert Ponting (1872 – 21 March 1952) was an English amateur footballer who played as a half-back for Southampton St. Mary's in 1896–97, when they won the Southern League title for the first of six occasions over the next eight years.

Football career

Ponting was born in Andover, Hampshire where he became a schoolmaster. He was a leading amateur player for his local club and had been captain of the Hampshire County Junior XI in 1893.^[1]

In March 1897, John Hodgkinson, the Southampton St. Mary's left-half was injured and the "Saints" called Ponting into the side for the remaining five matches of the season. Ponting made his debut in a 5–1 victory at Reading on 31 March^[2] and played his part in the run-in to Southampton's first Southern League title.^[1]

Later career

In the summer of 1897, Ponting returned to his teaching career. In the 1930s, he was working in the City of London as an insurance broker.^[1]

Honours

Southampton

• Southern League champions: 1896–97

References

1. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. pp. 273–274. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
2. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.