William Hartas "Billy" Fenton (23 June 1926 – 16 April 1973) was an English footballer. He played as a left-winger in the immediate post-second world war period. The highest level he played at was with Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

, but spent most of his professional career with York City

York City F.C.

York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...

.

Career

Born in Hartlepool

Hartlepool

Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, Fenton started his career with Barnsley

Barnsley F.C.

Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

, whom he signed for in November 1944. After leaving Barnsley he returned to his native North-East, playing for Horden Colliery Welfare

Horden Colliery Welfare A.F.C.

Horden Colliery Welfare A.F.C. are a football club based in Horden, near Peterlee, County Durham, England. They were formed in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League in 1935. They reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup in the 1938–39 season.-History:...

. In December 1948 Fenton joined Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

, then in the Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

. He was not a regular at the club, playing only 33 times in the next two and a half seasons.

Fenton signed for York City

York City F.C.

York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...

 in May 1951 for a small fee, and in his first season scored 31 goals, setting a new record for the club, which was previously held by Reg Baines

Reg Baines

Reginald E "Reg" Baines was an English footballer.Baines started his career with York City whilst the club was playing in the Midland League. He then played for Selby Town and Scarborough, until eventually re-joining York City in September 1931. He scored on his debut in The Football League...

. He was part of the team which played in the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 semi-final in 1955. Fenton stayed with York City for several seasons, writing himself into the clubs' history books by scoring 124 goals in 278 games, making him the third highest goalscorer in the club's history after Norman Wilkinson

Norman Wilkinson (footballer born 1931)

Norman Francis Wilkinson was an English footballer. He started his career with non-League Crook Town before joining Football League team Hull City in 1953. He joined York City in 1954 and is the club's leading goalscorer with 143 goals...

 and Keith Walwyn.

After leaving York, Fenton went on to play for another North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

 side, Scarborough

Scarborough F.C.

Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

, whom he signed for in July 1958. He scored 12 goals in 29 appearances for the Midland League

Midland Football League

There have been at least two different football competitions in England which used the name Midland Football League.One existed until 1982 before merging with the Yorkshire League to form the Northern Counties League....

 side in all competitions, including 10 goals in the league in the 1958–59 season.

Fenton died in York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 at the age of 46 on 16 April 1973. The Billy Fenton Memorial Trophy is presented annually by his widow Margo to York City's Clubman of the Year.