Full name William James Glazier Years Team Name Bill Glazier | Playing position Role Footballer Position Goalkeeper | |
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Date of birth (1943-08-02) 2 August 1943 (age 72) | ||
William James "Bill" Glazier (born 2 August 1943) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best remembered for his time in the Football League with Coventry City, making just under 400 appearances for the club.
Contents
- Early years
- Crystal Palace
- Coventry City
- Brentford
- St Louis Stars
- International career
- Personal life
- As a player
- As an individual
- References
Early years
Glazier's involvement in football began with a spell as a member of the ground staff at Division Three side Torquay United, before he was released due to lack of funds.
Crystal Palace
In October 1961, Glazier joined Division Three club Crystal Palace on trial, which was arranged by virtue of his family's bread delivery man being a personal friend of Palace captain Johnny McNichol. Glazier was signed on the strength of his performance for the Palace 'A' team in a match versus Dover. He quickly displaced Vic Rouse as the Eagles' first-choice goalkeeper and was an ever-present during the 1963–64 season, in which the Eagles secured promotion to Division Two with a runners-up finish. Glazier departed Selhurst Park in October 1964, having made 113 appearances for Palace.
Coventry City
In October 1964, the manager of Division Two club Coventry City (who pipped Crystal Palace to the Division Three title in the 1963–64 season), Jimmy Hill, signed Glazier for a then-record fee for a goalkeeper of £35,000. Glazier suffered a broken leg in a match versus Manchester City in April 1965, which kept him out of the game for a year. He returned to play in the Sky Blues side which won the Division Two title in the 1966–67 season. Now playing in Division One, Glazier continued as the club's first-choice goalkeeper until August 1975. He was rewarded with a testimonial in November 1974 versus an England 1966 World Cup XI, with Glazier scoring twice in a 6–6 draw. Glazier made 392 appearances in 11 years at Highfield Road.
Brentford
Glazier dropped down to Division Four to sign for Brentford in a £12,500 deal in August 1975. The move was helped along by Jimmy Hill (by now working as a broadcaster), who put Glazier in touch with Brentford manager John Docherty, who had been looking for a goalkeeper after loanee Steve Sherwood returned to Chelsea. Business interests and problems commuting from his Brighton home meant that Glazier couldn't give his full commitment to the Bees and he left the club after making just 12 appearances.
St. Louis Stars
Glazier closed out his career with a spell at North American Soccer League side St. Louis Stars in 1977.
International career
Glazier won three caps for the England U23 side, keeping a clean sheet in each match. One of Glazier's caps came against Romania at Highfield Road (home of his then-club side Coventry City) drew a crowd of 27,476, one of the highest attendances for an U23 match in England. A broken leg cut suffered with Coventry City in 1965 cut short Glazier's international career, as he was over the age-limit after returning to fitness.
Personal life
Early in his career, Glazier lived in Brighton, where his parents ran a guesthouse. After retiring from football, Glazier ran a hotel in Brighton before moving to Spain for 12 years, where he worked in swimming pool maintenance. He returned to the UK in the autumn of 1998 and settled in Lincolnshire, beginning a catering business with his wife.
As a player
Coventry City