William Townley

William Townley

William Townley in his earlier years
Personal information
Date of birth	(1866-02-14)14 February 1866
Place of birth	Blackburn, England
Date of death
Place of death	Blackpool, England
Position(s)	Forward (left-winger)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Blackburn Olympic
1888–1894	Blackburn Rovers	97	(37)
1894–1896	Darwen	42	(15)
1896–1897	Manchester City	3	(0)
International career
1889–1890	England	2	(2)
Managerial career
0000 –1909	Deutscher FC Prag
1909–1911	Karlsruher FV
1911–1913	SpVgg Fürth
1914	FC Bayern Munich
1914	SpVgg Fürth
1914	FC Bayern Munich
1919–1921	FC Bayern Munich
1920	FC St. Gallen
1921	SV Waldhof Mannheim
0000–1923	SC Victoria Hamburg
1923–1925	FC St. Gallen
1924	Netherlands
1926–1927	SpVgg Fürth
	FSV Frankfurt
1930–1932	SpVgg Fürth
1932	Eintracht Hannover
	Arminia Hannover
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William "Billy" Townley, born in Blackburn 14 February 1866, died 30 May 1950 in Blackpool, England, was an English Football player and coach.

He scored the first hat-trick in the history of the FA Cup final, but his lasting legacy is defined as an important pioneer of the game in Germany and as a journeyman coach on the continent.

Playing career

Townley's career as a player began with Blackburn Olympic F.C. He joined Blackburn Rovers in 1886 and won the FA Cup with the club in 1890 and 1891. In the first of these title appearances against The Wednesday, the outside left made history by contributing three goals in a 6–1 victory, earning the distinction of becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in an FA Cup final. He scored another goal in the successful defence of the title as the Rovers overcame Notts County 3–1 the following year. Townley's total of four goals in FA Cup finals has to date only been bettered once, by Liverpool's Ian Rush, who scored five goals in three finals appearances in the 1980s.

Townley was capped twice for England, in 1889 and 1890, scoring two goals in the second of those matches, which was a 9–1 victory over Ireland. In 1894 he moved to Darwen and played there for six years before joining Manchester City, where his playing career ended after he suffered a serious head injury.

Coaching career

At the end of his playing years Townley took up coaching as a profession, and as the opportunities were limited in England he left for the continent where football was beginning to develop a serious following. In Germany, as in the rest of Europe at the time, the game was strictly amateur in character and players often had to contribute to team expenses. For a club to have a coach was not yet a matter of course, but rather a luxury, as it was more common then for a senior player or club functionary to fill the role and carry out the tasks of a coach. Coaches were often hired for special occasions only, or for a brief period to help develop the skills of a team, before they moved on.

Townley's first coaching job was with DFC Prague who were beaten by VfB Leipzig in Germany's first national championship staged in 1903. He later joined Karlsruher FV, losing finalists in 1905, and led them to a their only national title in 1910.

The following year he was hired by the northern Bavarian club SpVgg Fürth. This club owned the most advanced facilities in Germany and was quickly becoming the largest club in the country with a membership approaching 3,000. Two months after his arrival Fürth lost against English side Newcastle United only 1–2. He guided the club to its first two Bavarian championships (Ostkreismeisterschaft) which heralded the onset of a golden era that would last into the 1930s which saw the club become one of the most dominant football sides in the country.

In December 1913 Townley got the call from Bayern Munich, but on a loan arrangement he re-joined to Fürth in April of the following year to guide the that club through the national championship rounds. In the final Fürth captured its first national title, defeating defending champions VfB Leipzig, holders of a then record three German titles. It is not clear, but he may then have returned to Munich, before the horrors of World War I overtook the continent, obscuring knowledge of Townley's activities during this period.

He re-emerged with Bayern in 1919 and coached there until 1921, helping the club earn local and regional titles. It appears he was loaned to the Swiss club FC St. Gallen in August 1920 for what was probably a summer training camp. Townley's two tenures in Munich coincided with the first two terms of legendary Bayern President Kurt Landauer who oversaw the club's first national title victory in 1932 during his third term with the Austrian Richard Dombi – of later Feyenoord fame – as coach.

Afterward Townley moved to SV Waldhof in Mannheim where he spent two months aiding in the club's preparations for the South German Championship. The team's campaign was cut short by eventual national champions 1. FC Nuremberg. It then appears that he may have coached in Sweden before joining SC Victoria Hamburg where he and his son, playing as a striker, spent a couple of seasons. In 1923 William Townley returned to St. Gallen where he stayed until February 1925.

Townley interrupted his time in Switzerland for a four-month stint with the Dutch national team to guide them through the 1924 Olympics in Paris. In the semi-finals the Netherlands lost a closely fought match to Uruguay – the dominant side of that era who counted the legendary Andrade and Pedro Cea in their ranks – and had to settle for fourth place.

In May 1926 Townley rejoined SpVgg Fürth for the championship final in which they overcame Hertha Berlin to win their second national title – the third national title to his credit. A year later he was coaching 1925 finalists FSV Frankfurt and spent some time working with nearby Union Niederrad.

In 1930 Townley returned for a third time to Fürth, with the club winning the South German Championship before being ousted from the national playoffs in the quarterfinals by the defending champions Hertha Berlin.

Now in his mid-60s, Townley took up his last known posting in 1932 with Arminia Hannover, then a strong regional side. Arminia defeated Dresdner SC in a quarterfinal match, but lost in the next round at home to eventual champions Fortuna Düsseldorf, starring the legendary Paul Janes. This marks the zenith of Arminia's achievement and the last significant role of a great pioneer of the game in Germany.

William Townley died in Blackpool, England in 1950 at the age of 84.

Playing career

Townley in 1890

Year	Club	Year	Title
18??	Blackburn Junior Football
18??	Blackburn Olympic F.C.
1886	Blackburn Rovers	1890 1891	Cup Cup
1894	Darwen F.C.
1900	Manchester City

English national team

23 February 1889 – British Home Championship – Stoke: England – Wales 4–1
15 March 1890 – British Home Championship – Belfast: Ireland – England 9–1 (2 goals by Townley)

Coaching record

Years	Club	Details	Year	Titles
19??-1909	Deutscher FC Prag
1909–1911	Karlsruher FV		1910	Championship
1911–1913	SpVgg Fürth	04/1911 – 12/1913	1912 1913	Bavarian Championship Bavarian Championship
1914	FC Bayern Munich	01/1914 – 04/1914
1914	SpVgg Fürth	04/1914 – 05/1914	1914	Championship
1914	FC Bayern Munich
1919–1921	FC Bayern Munich		1920	Champion Munich, Champion Southern Bavaria
1920	FC St. Gallen (CH)	08/1920
1921	SV Waldhof Mannheim	01/1921 – 03/1921
192?–1923	SC Victoria Hamburg
1923–1925	FC St. Gallen (CH)	1923 – 02/1925
1924	Netherlands (National)	03/1924-06/1924	1924	Olympics, 4th place
1926–1927	SpVgg Fürth	05/1926 – 09/1927	1926 1927	Championship South German Cup
192?–19??	FSV Frankfurt
1930–1932	SpVgg Fürth	09/30 – 06/1932	1931	Champion South Germany
1932 (?)	Eintracht Hannover
1932-193x	Arminia Hannover		1933	Champion North Germany (Southern District)

Not verified engagements:

• Sweden ?
• FC Union Niederrad 07 (ca. 1927/1930)

Honours

As a player

Blackburn Rovers

• FA Cup winner: 1890 and 1891

External links

• SpVgg Greuther Fürth
• "El Bombin" – Tales of British Football Coaches Around the World
• Billy Townley : Blackburn Rovers at www.spartacus-educational.com – the facts from the biography.
• England career profile