Bill Shorthouse

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. at 1955 with following players, standing from left: Bill Slater, Bill Shorthouse, Bert Williams, Ron Flowers, Eddie Stuart; front row: Johnny Hancocks, Peter Broadbent, Roy Swinbourne, Billy Wright (captain), Dennis Wilshaw and Jimmy Mullen. William Henry Shorthouse (27 May 1922 – 6 September 2008) was an English professional football player and coach, who spent his playing career with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Career Born in Bilston, Staffordshire, Shorthouse attended St Martin's School in nearby Bradley. He served in the Royal Engineers in the Second World War, and was wounded in the arm during the Normandy landings. He had joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as an amateur in 1941; his senior debut came on 23 August 1947 in a 4–3 First Division defeat at Manchester City.

He played as a defender, first at centre-half until replaced by Billy Wright, then at full-back. and he and chief scout Don Dorman acted as caretaker managers at the end of the 1969–70 season while the club sought a replacement after Stan Cullis, Shorthouse's former manager at Wolves, retired. He also briefly coached the England youth team during the following season and later worked as a youth team coach at Aston Villa, guiding them to victory in the 1980 FA Youth Cup.

Known as "The Baron" to his teammates, he died in a Wolverhampton nursing home on 6 September 2008 at the age of 86. He had been suffering from dementia.

Honours Wolverhampton Wanderers Football League First Division: 1953–54 FA Cup: 1948–49 FA Charity Shield: 1949 (shared)