Bert Williams
Bert Williams was born in Bradley on 31st January 1920. A talented goalkeeper, he joined Walsall in May 1937.
Williams made his debut for the club in a Third Division game against Bristol City on 16th October, 1937. He played in 25 games for the club before the outbreak of the Second World War. During the conflict he served in the Royal Air Force.
Ted Vizard, the managar of Wolverhampton Wanderers, signed Williams for a fee of £3,500 in September 1945. He joined a team that included Stan Cullis, Dennis Westcott, Johnny Hancocks, Sammy Smythe, Jesse Pye, Jimmy Dunn, Jimmy Mullen, Billy Crook, Roy Pritchard, Billy Wright, Bert Williams, Bill Shorthouse and Terry Springthorpe.
Despite taking Wolves to third place in the 1946-47 season Ted Vizard was replaced by his assistant Stan Cullis in June 1948. The following year Cullis led Wolves to the FA Cup final against Leicester City. Wolves won the game 3-1 with Jesse Pye scoring two goals in the first-half and Sammy Smythe netting another in the 68th minute.
Williams won his first international cap for England against France on 22nd May, 1949, replacing the great Frank Swift in the team. England won 3-1 and Williams retained his place and that year played against the Republic of Ireland (0-2), Wales (4-1) and Italy (2-0). The England team that year included Tom Finney, Neil Franklin, Johnny Hancocks, Wilf Mannion, Jackie Milburn, Stan Mortensen, Jimmy Mullen, Jesse Pye, and Billy Wright.
The following season Wolves finished in 2nd place in the First Division. Wolves finished 3rd in 1952-53 and won the title in 1953-54 season with Johnny Hancocks as the club's top scorer.
Williams won the last of his 24 international caps for England against Wales on 22nd October 1955. England lost the game 2-1 and Williams was dropped from the team. The following year Williams retired from football. He had played 419 league and cup games for Wolves.
After ending his football career, he later ran a sports shop in Bilston. Later he concentrated on buying, refurbishing and selling on of manufacturing businesses. He is now retired and lives near Shifnal in Shropshire.
Primary Sources
(1) Ron Flowers, For Wolves and England (1962)
It was Bert Williams, a fitness fanatic if ever I saw one - he was a sergeant instructor in the R.A.F. - who used to explain to me his body-building exercises. Bert, with his enthusiasm, soon had me as enthusiastic as he was, and during one of our pow-wows he casually mentioned that he thought I could become an even better player if I improved my speed.
Now Bert was at that time the fastest man in League football. He had clocked just over ten seconds over 100 yards and I naturally took heed of him. The outcome was that Bert showed me how to stretch my leg muscles for running. Quietly, but for all that most successfully, it was the Wolves and England goalkeeper who helped me add considerably to my speed. What is more, because of the interest Bert took in me, I added a good deal to my speed off the mark, and, I think, all-round value to the team. Typical of Bert Williams - and other senior professionals at Molineux - was his desire to help me not only as a footballer but as a man.