{{short description|Scottish footballer}} {{Use British English|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Billy Hendry | image = Billyhendry189192.jpg | fullname = William Harold Hendry<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> | birth_date = 20 June 1869<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> | birth_place = Newport-on-Tay, Scotland<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> | death_date = {{death date|1901|5|4|df=y}} (aged 31)<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> | death_place = Kidderminster, England | position = Defender | height = | youthyears1 = 1886 | youthclubs1 = Dunblane Thistle | youthyears2 = 1887 | youthclubs2 = Dundee Wanderers | years1 = 1888 | clubs1 = West Bromwich Albion | caps1 = 16 | goals1 = 3 | years2 = 1889 | clubs2 = Kidderminster Harriers | caps2 = | goals2 = | years3 = 1889 | clubs3 = Stoke | caps3 = 16 | goals3 = 1 | years4 = 1890–1891 | clubs4 = Preston North End | caps4 = 15 | goals4 = 0 | years5 = 1891–1895 | clubs5 = Sheffield United | caps5 = 91 | goals5 = 3 | years6 = 1895–1896 | clubs6 = Dundee | caps6 = 16 | goals6 = 0 | years7 = 1896 | clubs7 = Bury | caps7 = 8 | goals7 = 1 | years8 = 1898–1899 | clubs8 = Brighton United | caps8 = | goals8 = | years9 = 1899–1901 | clubs9 = Shrewsbury Town | caps9 = | goals9 = | totalcaps = 162 | totalgoals = 8 | medaltemplates = {{medalTeam|Sheffield United}} {{medalRU|Second Division|1893}} }}
'''William Harold Hendry''' (20 June 1869 – 4 May 1901) was a Scottish footballer who played as a defender. Born in Newport-on-Tay he played in the Football League for Bury, Preston North End, Sheffield United, Stoke and West Bromwich Albion.<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City">{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=Tony|title=The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City|year=1994|publisher=Lion Press|isbn=0-9524151-0-0}}</ref>
==Football career== ===Early career=== After leaving school, Hendry, a talented forward, played for Dunblane Thistle and then Dundee Wanderers, usually at outside right, but he was soon to play football in England. There was no professional football at the time in Scotland, so those players with talents to sell crossed the border.
In 1888, Hendry found himself playing for West Bromwich Albion in the first Football League season.<ref name="enfa"/> Hendry made his League debut on 8 September 1888, in a 2–0 win against Stoke at the Victoria Ground.<ref name="enfa"/> Hendry scored his debut League goal on 29 September 1888 at Stoney Lane, against Burnley.<ref name="enfa"/> He played 16 of the "Throstles" 22 Football League matches and scored three goals in 1888–89.<ref name="enfa"/> Hendry, now playing as a centre forward was restless in his time with the Baggies, and in April 1889 he joined Stoke.<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> While at Stoke Hendry was mainly used as a left-back and played 16 times scoring once.<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/> In January 1890 he joined Preston North End, who had just become Football League champions for a second time.<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/>
===Sheffield United=== In January 1891, Charles Stokes, the Chairman of Sheffield United's football committee went to Preston and returned with the signatures of three Preston players in the hope of improving United's professionalism. The players he signed were Jack Drummond, Sammy Dobson and Billy Hendry. Hendry made his debut for Sheffield United against Derby Junction on 28 February 1891 in a Midland Football League match.<ref name="BLADES1">{{cite book |author=Denis Clarebrough |title=Sheffield United: The First 100 Years |publisher=Sheffield United Football Club |year=1989|isbn=0-9508588-1-1}}</ref> It was Drummond who was to score the goal that took the Baldes into the First Division in 1893, but it was Hendry's signing that was the most significant. By now, Hendry had become a centre half. He was made team captain at Sheffield United and remained so until his career with the club ended in 1895.
He was a small stocky player, described as neat, cool and calculating with 'exceptional skill'. His value to Sheffield United lay not just in the shrewdness and effectiveness of his play, but in the direction and leadership he gave to the club in the early years of Sheffield United in general. The United committee "set great value upon his options as to the arrangement and formation of the team, and placed confidence in his judgement... and ability as a player, a captain, and an adviser"<ref name="blades whos who">{{cite book |author=Denis Clarebrough & Andrew Kirkham |title=Sheffield United Who's Who |publisher=Hallamshire Press |year=2008|pages=157 |isbn=978-1-874718-69-7}}</ref> It was also said that Hendry's advice and guidance helped the natural talents of Ernest Needham, who was to become an England international.<ref name="blades whos who" /> Hendry sustained an injury during a New Year's Day friendly fixture at Leith Athletic in 1895 and it was thought that it would end his career. He played only four more games for United before being released the following summer.<ref name="blades whos who" />
===Post Sheffield United=== Despite his injury problems Hendry later went on to play for Dundee<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bill Hendry {{!}} Player Statistics {{!}} Dundee (Dee Archive) |url=https://deearchive.co.uk/player.php?id=138 |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=deearchive.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> then returned South of the border to play for Bury in The Football League before moving to Brighton United and finally to Shrewsbury Town where he remained until his death in 1901 from heart disease.<ref name="blades whos who" />
==Professional Baseball==
In 1890 Hendry played second base professionally for Preston North End Baseball Club in the National League of Baseball of Great Britain.<ref name=Dobson>{{cite news|title=The Baseball Championship|work=Lancashire Evening Post|date=24 June 1890|page=4}}</ref>
==Style of play== Hendry had an ability to skilfully dribble the ball, a technique not used in the traditional English game in the 1880s. (One source described Hendry had qualities of speed, headwork and whole-hearted endeavour.<ref>{{cite book | last = Matthews | first = Tony | title = The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion 1878 – 2005 | publisher = Derby Books | year = 2012 | pages = 110 | isbn = 978-1-78091-154-0}}</ref>)
==Career statistics== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref name="enfa">{{ENFA}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Clarebrough & Kirkham |title=Sheffield United: the Complete Record |publisher=Derby Books Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-78091-019-2 |pages=270–279}}</ref> !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup !colspan=2|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |West Bromwich Albion |1888–89 |Football League |16||3||0||0||0||0||16||3 |- |rowspan="3"|Stoke |1888–89 |Football League |2||0||0||0||0||0||2||0 |- |1889–90 |Football League |14||1||0||0||0||0||14||1 |- !colspan=2|Total !16!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!16!!1 |- | rowspan="3" |Preston North End |1889–90 |Football League |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |- |1890–91 |Football League |14||0||1||0||0||0||15||0 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !15 !0 !1 !0 !0 !0 !16 !0 |- | rowspan="6" |Sheffield United |1890–91 |Midland League |7 |0 |0 |0 |1{{efn|Appearance(s) in Wharncliffe Charity Cup}} |0 |8 |0 |- |1891–92 |Northern League |15 |0 |5 |0 |3{{efn|Two appearances in Sheffield Challenge Cup; one appearance in Wharncliffe Charity Cup}} |0 |23 |0 |- |1892–93 |Second Division |20||2||2||0||9{{efn|One appearance in Football League test matches; eight appearances in Northern League}}||0||31||2 |- |1893–94 |First Division |29||0||1||0||5{{efn|Four appearances in United Counties League; one appearance in Wharncliffe Charity Cup}}||0||35||0 |- |1894–95 |First Division |20||1||0||0||2{{efn|Appearance(s) in United Counties League}}||1||22||2 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !91!!3!!8!!0!!20!!1!!119!!4 |- |Dundee |1895–96 |Scottish Division One |16 |0 |2 |0 |0 |0 |18 |0 |- |Bury |1896–97 |First Division |8||1||2||0||0||0||10||1 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !162!!8!!13!!0!!20!!1!!195!!9 |} {{notelist}}
==Honours== ;Sheffield United *Second Division: Runners Up – 1893
==Bibliography== *Clarebrough, Denis. ''From The past''. Sheffield United matchday programme, 10 January 1986.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendry, Billy}} Category:1869 births Category:1901 deaths Category:People from Newport-on-Tay Category:Scottish men's footballers Category:Men's association football defenders Category:English Football League players Category:Dundee Wanderers F.C. players Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Category:Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Category:Stoke City F.C. players Category:Preston North End F.C. players Category:Sheffield United F.C. players Category:Dundee F.C. players Category:Bury F.C. players Category:Brighton United F.C. players Category:Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Category:Midland Football League players Category:Northern Football League players Category:Scottish baseball players