A great servant to football. I knew he played for Sunderland but I was surprised see he played over 200 games back in the 50’s. RIP.
Like a few players of that era, a guarantee that he could continue his apprenticeship was part of his deal and he worked in the local shipyards before becoming a full time pro. Had 7/8 good season's before he fell out with Alan Brown (like a few others after him) and left for Luton. A crafty hard working winger and deservedly had a good career after he left. RIP Billy and thanks for the memories.
Before my time but remember him taking Northern Ireland to the 82 and 86 World cup finals. No mean feat for such a small nation.
If I recall he went Everton after a couple of years at Luton and even had a good career on Merseyside.