# Billy Ashcroft

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{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name          = Billy Ashcroft
| image          = 
| caption        = 
| fullname       = William Ashcroft
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1952|10|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool), England
| death_date    = 
| height         = 
| position       = [Defender](/source/Defender_(association_football))/[Forward](/source/Forward_(association_football))
| youthyears1    = 
| youthclubs1    = 
| years1         = 1970–1977
| years2         = 1977–1982
| years3         = 1982–1985
| years4         = 1985–1986
| clubs1         = [Wrexham](/source/Wrexham_A.F.C.)
| clubs2         = [Middlesbrough](/source/Middlesbrough_F.C.)
| clubs3         = [FC Twente](/source/FC_Twente)
| clubs4         = [Tranmere Rovers](/source/Tranmere_Rovers_F.C.)
| caps1          = 219
| caps2          = 139
| caps3          = 77
| caps4          = 23
| goals1         = 72
| goals2         = 21
| goals3         = 29
| goals4         = 2
| totalcaps      = 458
| totalgoals     = 124
}}
'''Billy Ashcroft''' (born 1 October 1952) is an English retired [footballer](/source/Association_football) who played both as a [central defender](/source/Defender_(association_football)) and as a [forward](/source/Forward_(association_football)).

The red-haired Ashcroft made his League debut for [Middlesbrough](/source/Middlesbrough_F.C.) on 3 September 1977 in a 2–1 defeat at [West Bromwich Albion](/source/West_Bromwich_Albion_F.C.), after having previously served [Wrexham](/source/Wrexham_A.F.C.) for seven years, playing 219 matches and scoring 72 goals. Ashcroft was transferred to [FC Twente](/source/FC_Twente) in the Netherlands in 1982,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kentudezenog.nl/rik-elfrink/|title=Billy Ashcroft, van Engeland naar Enschede en terug|website=Kent u deze nog?|language=nl|first=Rik|last=Elfrink|date=15 December 2015|access-date=11 April 2026}}</ref> where he stayed for three years, making 77 league appearances and scoring 29 goals. He was the club top-scorer in the [1983–84 season](/source/1983%E2%80%9384_Eerste_Divisie). In 1985, he moved to [Tranmere Rovers](/source/Tranmere_Rovers_F.C.), where he scored twice in 23 league appearances.

After retiring he worked as a driving instructor in Southport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vi.nl/pro/billy-ashcroft-liet-fc-twente-lachen-juichen-en-drinken-|title=Billy Ashcroft liet FC Twente lachen, juichen en drinken|website=Voetbal International|language=nl|first=Geert-Jan|last=Jakobs|date=23 July 2023|access-date=11 April 2026}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.ererat.nl/asp/ererat_spelerpaspoort.asp?spelerid=1125&AndereDivs=1 Billy Ashcroft] at Ererat {{in lang|nl}}
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=38100 Billy Ashcroft career stats] at [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/ Sporting-Heroes.net]

<br>
{{1976–77 Football League Third Division PFA Team of the Year}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcroft, Billy}}
Category:1952 births
Category:Living people
Category:Footballers from Liverpool
Category:Men's association football central defenders
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Wrexham A.F.C. players
Category:Middlesbrough F.C. players
Category:FC Twente players
Category:Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
Category:English Football League players
Category:Eredivisie players
Category:Eerste Divisie players
Category:English expatriate men's footballers
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Category:English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Category:20th-century English sportsmen

{{England-footy-defender-1950s-stub}}
{{England-footy-forward-1950s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Billy Ashcroft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Ashcroft) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Ashcroft?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.