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Former Hereford United striker Roy Williams (pictured on right) sadly died earlier this week aged 79. He joined the Bulls as a youngster and soon became a prolific scorer.
Late in 1948, just 16 years old he scored a hat-trick for the reserves against Walsall. Fifteen years later he converted a penalty for the reserves against Aston Villa to create a club record of 209 goals which had previously been held by Charlie Thompson who played for the Bulls in the 45/46 season and then from 1947 to 1958.
Before Williams retired from Hereford in 1963 he had scored 217 goals of which 154 were with the first team.
He missed just three seasons with the Bulls as he left Edgar Street for Southampton in late 1952 for £4,000. And he even scored once for Southampton against Hereford in a 'floodlit friendly'. Williams came back 'home' in summer 1955. The following season he scored 33 goals for the Bulls.
In the 57/58 season Williams was often on the scoresheet including a goal in Hereford's 6-1 defeat of Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup in front of 10,131 supporters. A few weeks afterwards he featured in the team that played against Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the Cup. That game attracted 18,114 spectators to Edgar Street, the highest ever attendance at the ground. Later that season he scored a goal in a 2-0 Welsh Cup match against Cardiff City at Ninian Park. In all Williams scored 32 that season.
From then on he continued to be a regular in the starting eleven until he moved to Worcester in 1963.
His funeral service will take place at St Paul’s Church in Tupsley on Wednesday, November 2 at 11.15am.
(Many of the details and the picture in this article are from 50 Years at Edgar Street by John Williamson)
