Billy Bevis
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Ernest Bevis | ||
| Date of birth | 29 September 1918 | ||
| Place of birth | Warsash, England | ||
| Date of death | 22 August 1994 (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Warsash, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||
| Playing position | Outside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Gosport Borough | |||
| 1934–1936 | Portsmouth | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1936–1937 | Portsmouth | 0 | (0) |
| 1937–1947 | Southampton | 82 | (17) |
| 1947–1949 | Winchester City | ||
| 1949–1951 | Cowes Sports | ||
| 1951–1952 | Winchester City | ||
| 1952–1953 | Warsash | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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William Ernest "Billy" Bevis DSM (29 September 1918 – 22 August 1994) was an English footballer who played for Southampton as an outside right in the years either side of the Second World War.
Bevis was born in Warsash, Hampshire and played football as a youth with Gosport Borough before joining Portsmouth as a trainee in February 1934. He signed a professional contract with Portsmouth in July 1936, but failed to break through into the first team at Fratton Park.
In July 1937, he was one of several players recruited by Southampton's newly appointed manager Tom Parker, who was trying to build a side to push for promotion from Division Two. Bevis was immediately drafted into the first team as an 18-year-old, replacing the injured John Summers, for his debut in a 0–0 draw with Aston Villa on 4 September 1937.
Bevis soon gained a reputation as a speedy right-winger and made 31 appearances in the 1937–38 season, scoring five goals. In the following season he only missed five matches, making 37 appearances and scoring six goals, including a "spectacular"hat-trick in a 3–1 victory at Swansea Town on 1 April 1939. His crosses also laid on scoring opportunities for the central forwards Reg Tomlinson and Fred Briggs who scored 12 and 14 league goals respectively, as the "Saints" finished 18th in the table, four points above the relegation zone. At the end of the season, Newcastle United made an enquiry about Bevis's availability.
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