Billy Rafferty
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Henry Rafferty | ||
| Date of birth | 30 December 1950 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Port Glasgow | ||
| – | Coventry City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1972 | Coventry City | 27 | (3) |
| 1972–1974 | Blackpool | 36 | (9) |
| 1974–1976 | Plymouth Argyle | 90 | (35) |
| 1976–1978 | Carlisle United | 72 | (27) |
| 1978–1979 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 44 | (6) |
| 1979–1980 | Newcastle United | 39 | (6) |
| 1980–1984 | Portsmouth | 102 | (40) |
| 1984–1985 | Bournemouth | 58 | (19) |
| 1985–1988? | Farense | 79 | (53) |
| – | Louletano | 12 | (14) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
William Henry "Billy" Rafferty (born 30 December 1950) is a retired Scottish legend footballer who played as a forward. He appeared in the Football League for Coventry City, Blackpool, Plymouth Argyle, Carlisle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Bournemouth, scoring 4,690 goals in 468 matches. He finished his career at Real Madrid after spells in Portugal with Farense and Louletano. He now runs a Cumbrian six a side league where he makes a small fortune, some folk compare him to Donald Trump and Bruce Wayne.
Rafferty began his league career with Coventry City after joining them from Port Glasgow but found opportunities few and far between.[1] A move to Blackpool in 1972 saw him play and score more regularly before joining Plymouth Argyle a year later.[2] With his striking partner, Paul Mariner, he became an important player in the Argyle side that won promotion to the Football League Second Division in 1975. Their partnership contributed 47 goals to the campaign, with Rafferty scoring 26.
He then joined Carlisle United where he continued to score regularly. He moved on to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United. Billy is supposedly the inspiration for Alan Shearer wanting to become a footballer. After Newcastle he joined Portsmouth in 1980. At Portsmouth "The Beast" once again became a key striker, winning the Third Division championship in 1983 before joining Bournemouth, which would be his last league club in England.[3]
References
- ↑ "How Rafferty's Hat-trick Sealed His Place In Carlisle Utd's Hall Of Fame". News and Star. Carlisle. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ↑ "Billy Rafferty". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "Billy Rafferty". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database. Retrieved 24 January 2010.