Walter Garth Butler (7 February 1923 – 13 July 1995) was an English footballer. He was nicknamed "the assassin" for his habit of taking several different coloured pills before a match.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Walter Garth Butler[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1923[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 13 July 1995 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Ilfracombe, England | ||
| Position(s) | Full-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Derby County | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1951 | Port Vale | 128 | (0) |
| Total | 128 | (0) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editButler joined Port Vale from Derby County in June 1946.[1] He played 12 Third Division South games in the 1946–47 season and featured in 39 league and one FA Cup game in the 1947–48 campaign.[1] He continued to be a key part of manager Gordon Hodgson's first-team plans. He played 34 games in the 1948–49 season and made 43 appearances in the 1949–50 campaign.[1] He featured just five times for the "Valiants" in the 1950–51 season. He was forced to retire from professional football in October 1951 after proving unable to recover from a knee injury.[1] He had played 134 league and cup games during his five years at The Old Recreation Ground / Vale Park.[1]
Career statistics
editSource:[2]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Port Vale | 1946–47 | Third Division South | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 1947–48 | Third Division South | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1948–49 | Third Division South | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1949–50 | Third Division South | 39 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 1950–51 | Third Division South | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1951–52 | Third Division South | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 128 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 134 | 0 | ||