Billy Kellock (footballer, born 1954)

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Billy Kellock
Personal information
Full name William Kellock[1]
Date of birth (1954-02-07)7 February 1954[1]
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland[1]
Date of death 20 March 2024(2024-03-20) (aged 70)[2]
Place of death Kettering, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1970–1971 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1973 Cardiff City 35 (2)
1973–1974 Norwich City 3 (0)
1974 Millwall 0 (0)
1974–1976 Chelmsford City
1976–1979 Kettering Town
1979–1982 Peterborough United 134 (43)
1982 Luton Town 7 (0)
1982–1983 Wolverhampton Wanderers 12 (3)
1983–1984 Southend United 53 (8)
1984–1985 Port Vale 11 (4)
1985–1986 Halifax Town 43 (17)
1987–19?? Kettering Town
Total 298+ (77+)
International career
Scotland schoolboys
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Kellock (7 February 1954 – 20 March 2024) was a Scottish footballer who scored 77 goals in 298 league games in an 11-year career in the Football League in the 1970s and 1980s.[4] He played for Aston Villa, Cardiff City, Norwich City, Millwall, Chelmsford City, Kettering Town, Peterborough United, Luton Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southend United, Port Vale, and Halifax Town. He was twice named on the PFA Team of the Year and was promoted out of the Second Division with Wolves in 1982–83.

Career[edit]

Kellock was a youth team player at Aston Villa, though went on to play for Cardiff City in the 1971 FA Youth Cup final defeat to Arsenal.[5] He broke into the first-team during the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, helping Jimmy Scoular's "Bluebirds" to 19th and 20th-place finishes in the Second Division. He turned professional in February 1972.[6] He played in the 1973 final of the Welsh Cup as Cardiff defeated Bangor City 5–1 on aggregate, though he only played in the 1–0 away defeat at Farrar Road.[7] He scored two goals in 35 league games at Ninian Park. He then played three First Division games for Norwich City in 1973–74 as John Bond's "Canaries" suffered relegation. He left Carrow Road to sign with Millwall. However, "Lions" manager Gordon Jago never handed Kellock his league debut, who left The Den and dropped out of the Football League and joined Chelmsford City in October 1974.[8] In October 1975, he scored four goals in a 6–1 Southern League Cup win over Banbury United despite missing a penalty kick.[8] He also scored a hat-trick in the semi-finals of the Essex Professional Cup, though he was not selected for the final.[8] He scored 41 goals in 76 games for Chelmsford before being released in January 1976. At that point, he signed with Kettering Town.[8] Manager Derek Dougan led the "Poppies" to third in the Southern League 1976–77, and then new boss Mick Jones led the club to sixth place in 1977–78. He helped them to reach the 1979 FA Trophy final, where they were beaten 2–0 by Stafford Rangers.[9]

Kellock impressed at Rockingham Road and returned to the Football League with Peterborough United after he was signed for a nominal fee in August 1979.[10][11] Peter Morris's "Posh" finished eighth in the Fourth Division in 1979–80, before posting a fifth-place finish in 1980–81 – they ended the campaign just one place and three points behind promoted Wimbledon. By this stage Kellock had been appointed as club captain.[10] They finished fifth again in 1981–82, six points behind fourth placed Bournemouth. In both 1980–81 and 1981–82, Kellock was named on the PFA Team of the Year.[12][13] He scored 43 goals in 134 league games at London Road. He left the club for a £30,000 fee after being vocal in criticism of what he perceived as the club's lack of ambition.[10] He played seven league games for David Pleat's Luton Town, but quickly left Kenilworth Road to play for Graham Hawkins's Wolverhampton Wanderers in March 1983.[14] Wolves were promoted out of the Second Division in second place in 1982–83.[10]

Kellock was re-signed by Peter Morris, now manager at Southend United, who were relegated out of the Third Division in 1983–84. Kellock scored eight goals in 53 league games at Roots Hall. He joined John Rudge's Port Vale in December 1984.[1] He had a "stunning impact" on his debut; scoring two goals in a 5–1 win over Exeter City at Vale Park on New Year's Day.[1][15] He was a regular in the side, scoring four goals in 11 Fourth Division games in 1984–85, before he strained a hamstring in March.[1] After refusing new terms, in June 1985, he signed for Halifax Town, who were managed his former boss Mick Jones.[1] He went on to score 17 goals in 43 Fourth Division appearances for the "Shaymen" in 1985–86, finishing as the club's top-scorer.[6] This tally included a hat-trick against Wrexham at The Shay on 14 March.[6] He left the club and made a return to Kettering Town in 1987.[10]

Style of play[edit]

Kellock was an all-round midfielder with excellent long-range shooting ability who was aggressive in the tackle.[10][16]

Post-retirement[edit]

After leaving the game, Kellock was head of sales and marketing at a Country club near Oakham.[17] He later worked as a painter and decorator.[9] He was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer and a GoFundMe page was set up to support him.[9]

Kellock's death was announced on 20 March 2024. He was 70.[10]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[18]
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cardiff City 1971–72 Second Division 6 0 3 1 0 0 9 1
1972–73 Second Division 29 2 4 2 0 0 33 4
Total 35 2 7 3 0 0 42 5
Norwich City 1973–74 First Division 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 1
Millwall 1974–75 Second Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Peterborough United 1979–80 Fourth Division 45 19 1 1 6 3 52 23
1980–81 Fourth Division 46 13 6 0 4 1 56 14
1981–82 Fourth Division 43 11 3 0 6 1 52 12
Total 134 43 10 1 16 5 160 49
Luton Town 1982–83 First Division 7 0 1 0 1 2 9 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1982–83 Second Division 9 3 0 0 0 0 9 3
1983–84 First Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 12 3 0 0 0 0 12 3
Southend United 1983–84 Third Division 40 5 1 0 4 4 45 9
1984–85 Fourth Division 13 3 2 0 3 0 18 3
Total 53 8 3 0 6 4 62 12
Port Vale 1984–85 Fourth Division 11 4 0 0 2 0 13 4
Halifax Town 1985–86 Fourth Division 43 17 5 0 3 0 51 17
Career total 298 77 21 4 29 12 348 93

Honours[edit]

Individual

Cardiff City

Kettering Town

Wolverhampton Wanderers

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 160. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ "Rest in Peace Billy Kellock". www.lutontown.co.uk. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  3. ^ Dunk, Peter (1987). Rothmans football yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0356143545. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. ^ Billy Kellock at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
  5. ^ a b Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
  6. ^ a b c d "Kellock, Billy". Wolverhampton Wanderers. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  7. ^ "WELSH CUP FINAL 1972/73". welshsoccerarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d "#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: A SERIES OF CLARETS PLAYERS, PICTURES, PROGRAMMES AND COLLECTABLES". Chelmsford City F.C. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Dunham, Jon (30 July 2022). "GoFundMe page launched to support Poppies and Posh legend Kellock". Northamptonshire Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Swann, Alan (20 March 2024). "RIP Billy Kellock, one of the great Peterborough United midfielders". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  11. ^ Swann, Peter (25 June 2023). "The best Peterborough United free transfer signings of all time includes promotion-winners and a future top-flight stars". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 143.
  13. ^ a b Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 144.
  14. ^ Wash, Roger (21 March 2024). "Rest in Peace Billy Kellock". www.lutontown.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Match 261st January 1985Port Vale (a)". Published: Wednesday 02 January 1985 Newspaper: Staffordshire Sentinel. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Player profile". theposhtrust.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  17. ^ Fissler, Neil. "Port Vale – K". where-are-they-now.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  18. ^ Billy Kellock at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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