16th September 1941

Exeter, Devon

Exeter-born Alan Willey joined Exeter City from school in the mid-1950s but never played for the first-team. Moving on to Bridgwater Town, he later joined Oxford United and was a key figure in the club's early years in the Football League before finishing his league career with Millwall.  

Leaving school, Alan was taken on the St James' Park 'groundstaff'  before agreeing professional terms as a seventeen-year-old in November 1957. Playing plenty of games for the reserves between 1957 and 1960, often in defence, he eventually moved on and joined Bridgwater Town having had a brief spell with St Blazey. 

Part of the Bridgy team that beat Minehead, Weston-super-Mare, Cheltenham Town and Hereford United in the FA Cup in 1960/61, he faced Oxford United in the second round proper and caught the eye of his opponents. Signing for a club that was still in the Southern League, he was part of the team that was elected to the Football League in 1962 and, by now an inside-forward, scored 23 times from 86 appearances in the club's new surroundings as Oxford gained promotion from the Fourth Division at the third attempt. Scoring 48 times - once his Southern League and FA Cup games were taken into account - from a wider number of 128 outings, he netted four against Gravesend & Northfleet in the Southern League and a 13-minute hat-trick against Mansfield in the Football League. 

Leaving the old Manor Ground in 1966 to play ten league games for Millwall, he moved to South Africa to play for Durban City before returning to the Oxford area to turn out for Banbury.

Alan died on 28 April 2017 aged 75.