Billy Arnison

Joseph William Arnison (27 June 1924 – 1996) was a South African professional footballer, best known as a player for Scottish club Rangers and English club Luton Town.

Billy Arnison

Personal information
Full name	Joseph William Arnison
Date of birth	(1924-06-27)27 June 1924
Place of birth	Johannesburg, South Africa
Date of death	1996 (aged 71–72)
Place of death	Johannesburg, South Africa
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1945	State Mines
1946	Delfos
1946–1948	Rangers	7	(1)
1948–1951	Luton Town	44	(19)
1951–1954	Berea Park
1955	Germiston Callies
1956	Benoni United
1957	Brakpan United
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Arnison was signed by Glasgow club Rangers for the first post-war season, 1946–47, initially playing in the wartime Victory Cup and Southern League Cup.^[1] He scored four goals in ten games for Rangers, an impressive return, but the next season saw him isolated at Ibrox. 1948 saw him move south, when English Second Division side Luton Town offered Rangers £8,000 for his services. Arnison soon became a crowd favourite at Kenilworth Road, scoring a hat-trick in his fourth game as Luton beat Cardiff City 3–0. He finished the season as top scorer, even though he missed a large part of the season with an injury to his right knee.^[2][3]

After three major operations, Arnison retired from the professional game at 27 and returned to South Africa, where he became a physiotherapist.^[2]