Bill Julian

John William "Bill" Julian (10 July 1867 – 14 March 1957) was an English football player and coach.

Bill Julian

Bill Julian in 1912
Personal information
Full name	John William Julian
Date of birth	10 July 1867
Place of birth	Boston, Lincolnshire, England
Date of death	14 March 1957(1957-03-14) (aged 89)
Place of death	Enfield, London, England
Playing position(s)	Wing half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
?–1885	Boston Excelsior
1885–1889	Boston Town
1889–1892	Royal Arsenal
1892–1894	Luton Town
1894–1895	Tottenham Hotspur
1895–1896	Dartford
Teams managed
1895	British Ladies' Football Club
1909–1912	HFC
1913–1915	HFC
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Boston, Lincolnshire, he first played for his local side Boston Excelsior, then Boston Town. He impressed in a home match for Boston Town against Royal Arsenal on Good Friday in 1889, and Arsenal then arranged a job for him at the Royal Arsenal factory so that he could play for their team.[1] He played in Arsenal's very first FA Cup tie, against Lyndhurst on 5 October 1889, and soon earned a reputation as a determined and tough-tackling wing-half. He became club captain in 1890, and was still captain when Arsenal turned professional in 1891.[2]

However, he was replaced as Arsenal captain in October 1891 by new arrival Sandy Robertson (who had previously played for Preston North End's 1888–89 Double-winning side), and although assured of a place in the first team, he decided to step down to the reserves. In the summer of 1892, he moved to Luton Town, to become the club's captain and coach. He played 4 FA Cup ties and 71 other senior matches for Woolwich Arsenal.

After two years at Luton, he joined Tottenham Hotspur (thus making him the first person to play for both Spurs and Arsenal, albeit long before the latter moved to north London in 1913), and played in Spurs' very first FA Cup tie, a first qualifying match against West Hertfordshire, on 13 October 1894; Spurs won 3–2.[3] He left Tottenham in 1895, and finished his career at Dartford. He later opened a sports shop in Plumstead and became the first British ladies team coach in 1895. Julian remained loyal to Woolwich Arsenal, going back to work for the club during the Boer War.[2]

Julian retained his footballing ties after retiring from playing, and in 1909 he moved to the Netherlands to coach there, later followed by his sons Bill jr. and Harry, who both coached a number of teams in the Netherlands. Julian acted as head coach of HFC from 1909 until the 31st of December 1912. He stayed with HFC but from then on he was assistant-coach / groundsman / caretaker before he returned to England in 1915 to live in Enfield, London.

He was one of the longest-surviving members of Arsenal's first professional side, along with Gavin Crawford and Jack McBean. The three were reunited at an Arsenal game against Chelsea on 20 March 1948 (by which time Arsenal were one of the leading sides in English football), an event recorded in The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal.[4] He lived until the age of 89, dying in Enfield in 1957, outliving both Crawford and McBean to make him the last surviving member of Arsenal's first professional team.

Personal life

Julian married Edith Emerson in July 1888. They had three sons and a daughter. He died in Enfield in 1957.[2]

Honours

Arsenal[2]

• London Cup
• London Charity Cup
• Kent Charity Cup

References

1. Goodwin, Bob (2017). The Spurs Alphabet. Robwin Publising House. pp. 237–238. ISBN 978-0954043421.
2. "John William Julian". The Straw Plaiters.com.
3. "October 13th". MEHSTG.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
4. Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin (2005). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn. p. 27. ISBN 0-600-61344-5.

References

• Harris, Jeff (1995). Hogg, Tony (ed.). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4.
• Roper, Alan (2004). The Real Arsenal Story: In the Days of Gog. Wherry. ISBN 0-9546259-1-9.