| Billy Mercer | |
| Fullname: | William Henry Mercer |
| Birth Date: | 27 May 1888[1] |
| Birth Place: | Prescot, England |
| Death Date: | [2] |
| Death Place: | Worthing, England |
| Height: | [3] |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Years1: | 1908–1909 |
| Clubs1: | Grosvenor |
| Years2: | 1909– |
| Clubs2: | Prescot |
| Years3: | –1914 |
| Clubs3: | Prescot Athletic |
| Years4: | 1914–1924 |
| Clubs4: | Hull City |
| Caps4: | 193 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 1924–1928 |
| Clubs5: | Huddersfield Town |
| Caps5: | 71 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 1928–1929 |
| Clubs6: | Blackpool |
| Caps6: | 19 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
William Henry Mercer (27 May 1888 – 5 June 1956) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Hull City, Huddersfield Town and Blackpool.[4] [5] An all-round sportsman, he notably played for Hull Cricket Club and was a prominent snooker player in Yorkshire.
Mercer's brother Peter was 1947 National Bowls champion.[6] Mercer served in the Royal Engineers during the First World War and was demobilised in December 1919. Mercer operated a billiard hall in west Hull during the 1930s and 1940s, but by 1948, he was suffering health issues due to mustard gas poisoning he had suffered in 1917, during the course of his war service. Mercer moved to live with his brother Peter in Worthing and died there of a heart complaint in 1956.
| Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Hull City | 1914–15[7] | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1919–20 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |||
| 1920–21 | 42 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |||
| 1921–22 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |||
| 1922–23 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |||
| 1923–24 | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |||
| 1924–25 | 12 | 0 | ― | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 193 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 203 | 0 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 1924–25[8] | First Division | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 1925–26 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |||
| 1926–27 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 1927–28 | 23 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |||
| Total | 71 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 79 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 264 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 282 | 0 | |||
Huddersfield Town