Billy Furness
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Isaac Furness | ||
| Date of birth | 8 June 1909 | ||
| Place of birth | Washington, County Durham, England | ||
| Date of death | 29 August 1980 (aged 71) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Playing position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Usworth Colliery | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1928–1937 | Leeds United | 243 | (62) |
| 1937–1947 | Norwich City | 93 | (21) |
| National team | |||
| 1933 | England | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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William Isaac Furness (8 June 1909 – 29 August 1980) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward for Leeds United and Norwich City in the 1930s, making one appearance for England in 1933.
Furness was born in Washington, County Durham and played his early football for Usworth Colliery from where he was signed by Leeds United in August 1928 for a fee of £50.
At this time Leeds were struggling in the lower reaches of the First Division and were getting something of a reputation for being a yo-yo team – after being elected to the Second Division in 1920, they were promoted in 1924, relegated in 1927 and promoted again in 1928. Furness took a while to break into the first team, with Russell Wainscoat and Eric Longden having established themselves in the inside forward positions. In the 1930–31 season Furness displaced Longden and from then on he was rarely out of the side. Unfortunately, his eight goals in 1930–31 were unable to stave off relegation and Leeds were to spend the 1931–32 season in the Second Division. With Charlie Keetley scoring 23 goals and 12 from Furness, Leeds returned to the top flight as runners-up in Division Two.
In the first season back in Division One, Furness was ever-present scoring six goals from 42 league appearances, as Leeds finished in eight place with Arthur Hydes the new spearhead, scoring 16. Furness's form was to be rewarded with his solitary England cap, when he was selected, along with his Leeds team-mate Wilf Copping, for the first-ever match against Italy on 13 May 1933. The match ended 1–1 with England's goal coming from Cliff Bastin. As well as Furness and Copping, four other players were making their England debut.
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