Billy Shepherd

John William (Billy) Veitch SHEPHERD

Born in Harton, South Shields in 1894, Billy was a promising young goalkeeper who played for Newcastle at the back end of the Great War but an injury cost him his place leading to him moving to Ashington.
He was a consistent performer at Ashington, a Football League club at the time, but another injury saw him unable to re-claim the number one spot so he asked for a transfer and came to Luton in the summer of 1923.
Initially a back-up for Tommy Gibbon he earned a first team place in a 2-1 home win over Brentford, but the following week he was held to blame for a 3-0 defeat at Portsmouth. A half-fit Gibbon was recalled and the subsequent signing of John Orr relegated Billy to third choice.
Billy left for Workington at the season’s end before finishing his career at West Stanley. Billy passed away in 1936.