Pickering Bill Image 2 Reading 1929

Description

Birmingham born right back Bill Pickering began his football career with Latch & Batchelors from where he signed on amateur forms for Sunderland in July 1924, spending 1924-25 at Roker Park without making a first team appearance. In August 1925 he joined Third Division (South) club Merthyr Town, making his Football League debut at Swindon Town that September, playing 9 matches for Merthyr across the season before a move to Gillingham in August 1926. He had less than two seasons at Priestfield playing at left back and came to the attention of First Division club Huddersfield Town, who signed him in November 1927 after 49 matches for The Gills.

Pickering played just twice for The Terriers, his second match in an FA Cup quarter final 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, and in May 1929 he transferred to Reading, spending a single season at Elm Park playing 21 matches for The Royals mainly at left back, before a move to non league Colwyn Bay United in 1930. He returned to Football League action in May 1931 when he signed for Bristol Rovers, where he played almost exclusively at right back for six seasons. An ever present in three of those seasons, he scored his only career goal in a defeat at Fulham in April 1932, playing 242 matches for The Pirates   before a move to Accrington Stanley in June 1937. After 34 matches for Stanley, he joined non league club Oswestry Town in 1938, playing for Cradley Heath later the same year before his career was ended by the outbreak of the Second World War.