2nd July 1907

West Auckland, Durham

Forward

Billy Woodward played for Exeter City during the early 1930s after moving from Spennymoor United. Leaving for Bath City his performances at Twerton Park earned him a move to Manchester United although he was to subsequently feature more often for Tranmere Rovers and Chesterfield. 

Billy began his career with Evenwood Town in the Auckland and District League prior to joining Chilton Colliery of the Northern League. He then moved to Crook Town of the North Eastern League where he played on a semi-professional basis. His goalscoring record at Crook soon attracted the attention of  Spennymoor United for whom he signed early in 1931. 

Within three months, Billy was given a Football League opportunity with Exeter City. Arriving at St James' Park in the summer of 1931, he made his debut for the Grecians in the second game of the season against Fulham on 2 September 1931. Playing only one more first-team game before Christmas, Billy scored frequently for the reserves but couldn't force himself into the first-team with players such as Harold Houghton, Percy Varco and Fred Whitlow scoring on a regular basis. In total Billy made just seven league appearances scoring twice against Southend United and Bristol Rovers.   

Released at the end of the 1931/32 season, he joined Bath City where nine goals in 17 games attracted the interest of Manchester United. Joining the Old Trafford club in November 1932 for a substantial fee, Billy ultimately failed to earn a first-team place with United but had more success with Tranmere Rovers (102 games, 38 goals), Chesterfield (29 games, 13 goals) and Stockport County where he played 7 games in 1937/38. He later turned out for Consett and died in County Durham 1975.

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