Billy Lansdowne

Not to be confused with Bill Lansdowne.

William Lansdowne (born 28 April 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Active in both England and Sweden, Lansdowne scored 45 goals in 169 career league games. On 24 September 2018 he was inducted into the Kalmar FF Wall of Fame.^[2][3][4]

Billy Lansdowne

Personal information
Full name	William Lansdowne[1]
Date of birth	(1959-04-28) 28 April 1959 (age 66)
Place of birth	Epping, England
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
0000–1978	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1981	West Ham United	9	(1)
1981–1982	Charlton Athletic	32	(4)
1982–1983	Gillingham	6	(2)
1983–1988	Kalmar FF	122	(38)
	Leytonstone & Ilford
	Dagenham
	Anderstorp
Total		169	(45)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Epping, Essex, Lansdowne began his career with West Ham United, making his professional debut for the club on 28 April 1979.^[5] Lansdowne later played for Charlton Athletic and Gillingham, and made a total of 47 appearances in the Football League for all three clubs.^[6]

Lansdowne later spent six seasons with Swedish club Kalmar FF and was joint-top scorer in the Allsvenskan in 1985 with 10 goals.^[7] He played in the 1987 Svenska Cupen Final, where Kalmar FF won. In September 2018, he was commemorated with a plaque at the Guldfågeln Arena.^[8]

He later played for Leytonstone & Ilford, Dagenham and Anderstorp.^[9]

After his retirement, he remained in Sweden and became a football commentator for TV4. He later commentated on greyhound racing for TV3.^[10]

Personal life

Lansdowne's father Bill was also a professional footballer who played for West Ham United.^[11] His son, Billy Jr, played for Nybro IF, IFK Berga and Lindsdals IF, in the lower levels of Swedish football.^[12][13]

Honours

Kalmar FF

• 1987 Svenska Cupen^[2][14]

Individual

• Allsvenskan top scorer: 1985^[7] (shared with Peter Karlsson and Sören Börjesson)