Harry Williams
Personal information
Full name Harry Williams
Date of birth (1951-05-07) 7 May 1951
Place of birth Sydney, Australia
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1977 St. George-Budapest
1978 Canberra City SC
1985–1986 Inter Monaro 19 (0)
1990 Inter Monaro 2 (0)
International career‡
1970–1977 Australia 13 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 August 2007
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 August 2007

Harry Williams (born 7 May 1951) is a former soccer player. He was the first recognised Indigenous Australian to play for the senior Australian national football team, the Socceroos. He was part of Australia's 1974 FIFA World Cup squad.

Early life

Williams was born in 1951[1] in Sydney of Aboriginal and Welsh descent. From the age of nine, Williams played junior soccer for St George Police Boys side in Sydney.

Career

Williams played in the New South Wales competition for St George.[1]

He was recruited to the national side at the age of 19, and went on an overseas tour with the team in 1970. In 1974, having only played six matches for Australia as a senior, Williams was part of Australia's first foray into the World Cup Finals in West Germany.[1]

Including qualifiers, Williams played six World Cup matches for Australia during his career. In total, he represented Australia 17 times between 1970 and 1978.

Recognition

A 2005 photo of Williams by photographer Sahlan Hayes was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia.[1]

Family

He is the first cousin of basketball player Claude Williams, who was the first and only Aboriginal basketball coach. Claude is the son of musician Claude "Candy" Williams.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Harry Williams, b. 1951". National Portrait Gallery people. 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Gorman, Joe (4 March 2015). "The Forgotten Story of … Claude Williams, former Souths player". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2022.


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