Bill Matthews

William Adam Matthews... he was 17 years old when his family moved from Dublin to Winnipeg... he married Mary Frances Staples on 29 August 1931... he was 77 years old when he passed away on 19 May 1981 (he was buried at Saint John Anglican Cemetery)... worked as a broker... on 21 November 1969, attended Winnipeg United Weston’s 60th anniversary dinner at the Empress Lanes...

posthumously honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player...

as noted in 1924 in the Winnipeg Free Press after one match, “the bright star (and) lanky athlete was a team in himself at times”... wrote Vince Leah in 1972, Matthews was “one of the finest centre halfbacks ever to grace a soccer field”... wrote Vince Leah in 1974, “Bill was a special idol, a fine-looking, tall man who, in his 70s, remains as impressive as ever; I would rate only the late George James with that immaculate Irishman” Matthews... wrote Vince Leah in 1981, Matthews “was firmly linked to the golden era of local soccer” in Winnipeg...