Bill Williams

I was born in London on St Patricks Day (17th March) 1952 the same year that Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne, although her coronation was not until 1953. I grew up in the East End of London, the docklands area, which was heavily bombed during World War II. Dad was a London taxi driver and mum a seamstress by trade, so very much working class and modest beginnings.

I have always been interested in sports, particularly football (soccer), which I played to a reasonable level. The ambition at a young age, like many kids, was to become a professional. I was associated with professional clubs Watford, Millwall and Fulham before playing semi-pro until the age of 38. But I was an avid watcher of Cricket, Rugby, Tennis, Golf, the Olympics and so on.
Not fulfilling my dream to be a top level professional footballer I qualified as an accountant working for several companies whilst playing part-time soccer. In 1984 I formed my own IT & Business Consulting firm, which grew to a number of locations around the world, e.g. South Africa, Ireland, USA, Switzerland and of course England.

In 2007 I effectively took early retirement, sold off my businesses and moved to Florida. Once in the USA my passion for soccer switched to golf. And since I was always interested in history from a young age, golf history was a natural progression, so much so that playing, watching tournaments and researching is now all consuming, and has been for some years. I have written and published three books “Harry Vardon – A Career Record of a Champion Golfer”, “Vardon in America” and “Ted Ray – The Forgotten Man of Golf”. Currently, I am heavily researching the life and career of Allan Robertson with perhaps a view to writing a fourth book.

My first project about Harry Vardon re-wrote the official history of the great man and dispelled many misnomers. The book, and all my extensive working papers, was presented to Dr Tony Parker at the World Golf Hall of Fame several years ago, which they validated for accuracy and modified his career record.

I am married and have two grown children in England, and two grandchildren. I share my birthday with the illustrious Bobby Jones.