Williams was born in
Smethwick and, after leaving Oldbury Road School, played for various local clubs, including West Bromwich Hawthorns, West Smethwick, Hawthorn Villa and Old Hill Wanderers. It was while he was playing for the latter club that he was spotted by
West Bromwich Albion, and he was signed as a replacement for
Mark Nicholson who had left to join
Luton Town. Williams joined Albion in May 1894, signing for a £20 transfer fee. they had more success in the
FA Cup. In the
semi-final against
Sunderland, Williams scored from the
penalty spot following a foul on
Billy Bassett, thus helping Albion secure their fifth
FA Cup Final appearance. In
the final itself, played at
Crystal Palace against local rivals
Aston Villa, Villa took a first-minute lead when
Bob Chatt's shot was half saved by
goalkeeper Joe Reader and
John Devey bundled the ball over the line. This was the fastest goal in
FA Cup history, scored after just 30 seconds. In
the following season, Williams was ever-present in a defence that conceded 59 goals as Albion struggled throughout the year. They finished the season at the foot of the table and had to enter the end of season test matches involving the two teams finishing at the foot of the
First Division and the two who finished at the top of the
Second Division. Williams scored in a 6–1 victory over
Manchester City and in a 2–0 victory over
Liverpool, and as a result Albion retained their First Division status with Liverpool replacing
Small Heath. The
1896–97 season was yet again disappointing for Albion as they finished the season in twelfth place. For Williams however, it heralded the start of his
England career, when he was called up to play at left-back in the
British Home Championship match at
Trent Bridge,
Nottingham against
Ireland. England "totally dominated the game" winning 6–0, with a
hat-trick from
Fred Wheldon (also making his international debut) and a pair from
Steve Bloomer. The
1897–98 league season was more successful for Albion and at the end of March they still had faint hopes of a high finish, but four defeats in April resulted in a seventh-place finish. Williams was called back into the England team for the
1898 British Home Championship against Ireland played at the
Solitude Ground,
Belfast on 5 March 1898. In a close match, England defeated the Irish by three goals to two. Williams retained his place for the match against
Wales on 28 March, when he was joined by his West Bromwich Albion colleague
Tom Perry who was making his single international appearance at right-half. England won the match comfortably 3–0, with two goals from
Fred Wheldon. The final match of the international season was against
Scotland and was to decide the
1898 British Home Championship with both teams level on points. In the match, played at
Celtic Park, Glasgow on 2 April, Scotland were defeated by a fast and powerful England side, who emerged victorious by three goals to one, with
Steve Bloomer scoring twice. Despite playing all three matches away, England claimed the
British Home Championship after a two-year gap. Williams was again selected for the
1899 British Home Championship matches against Ireland and Wales. The first match, against
Ireland, was played at
Roker Park,
Sunderland's newly opened ground, and ended in a 13–2 victory for England, with four goals from
Gilbert Smith and three from
Jimmy Settle. This match is still both the record number of goals scored by England in a single match and the highest aggregate goals (15) in a game involving England. England defeated the Welsh in the next match 4–0 with a pair of goals from
Steve Bloomer Williams was expected to play in the deciding match against Scotland a few weeks later, but a niggling cartilage injury ruled him out and he was unable to reclaim his place the following season. In his England career, he played six matches all of which ended in victories, with only five goals conceded. He continued to play on for West Bromwich Albion until the
1900–01 season but the cartilage injury forced him to retire in June 1901. In his West Bromwich Albion career he played 180 league games, plus two in the test matches and 22 in the FA Cup, a total of 204 matches with 12 goals. ==After football==