Back in the very early days of his senior career at Aston Villa. Billy took part in the notorious ten-and-a-half minute match between Sheffield Wednesday and Villa. In the November 1898 game the Football League had demanded the game be halted after 79 minutes due to poor light, with the Football League ordering the remaining 10½ minutes to be played almost four months later. It’s one of those stories that feels more like folklore than fact.
Billy’s involvement is particularly fascinating as he was not part of the original lineup, but by the time the match resumed nearly four months later, he had earned his spot in the senior squad. So he played only the final 10½ minutes of a match he hadn’t started—an unusual debut scenario that speaks volumes about his rapid rise and the quirks of football administration in that era.