Club saddened to hear former inside-right has passed away
WEST Bromwich Albion are saddened to hear of the passing of Wilf Carter, who yesterday lost his battle with cancer, at the age of 79.
Wednesbury-born Wilf joined Albion straight from school in 1949 and was at The Hawthorns as the club pieced together the great side that was to be such a force throughout the 1950s.
Predominantly an inside-right, he made his debut for the Baggies in a 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on September 22, 1951, just before his 18th birthday, a milestone he celebrated a month later by scoring in his second game for the club, a 3-1 win at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Ronnie Allen getting the other two.
Wilf’s first-team opportunities were limited in the following seasons by the emergence of Paddy Ryan and Johnnie Nicholls at inside-forward and he did not really get an extended run in the side until 1954/55 when he made 26 appearances in the First Division, scoring nine goals.
That was probably the pinnacle of his time at The Hawthorns and he was in and out of the team over the next two seasons, pushed down the pecking order by the arrival of Bobby Robson.
He scored from the penalty spot in his final Albion appearance, a 2-2 draw at home to Charlton in April 1957 and at the end of the season, he moved to Plymouth Argyle, along with reserve goalkeeper Geoff Barnsley, in a combined deal worth £2,500.
He became something of a legend at Home Park, helping them to win the Third Division and totalling 148 goals in 275 games for the Pilgrims.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Margaret, his son, daughters, grandchildren and friends at this sad time.