Vic Potts

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Seasons

Age*

Division

Appearances

Starts

Substitute

Unused

Goals

From

Played Under

Alex Massie |

First Squad Appearance

Wednesday, 5 September 1945

Debut Appearance

Wednesday, 5 September 1945

West Bromwich Albion (h), Football League South

First Goal

Did not score

Final Appearance

Wednesday, 14 April 1948

Blackburn Rovers (h), Division One

Final Squad Appearance

Wednesday, 14 April 1948

Vic Potts

Player #400 for Aston Villa, Victor Ernest Potts, known as Vic Potts, played as a right back for the club. Vic played for Villa between 1945-46 and 1947-48 making 72 appearances.

Vic was born in Aston, less than a mile from Villa Park, on 20 August 1915 and made his debut appearance for Villa in the 1945-46 regional league aged 30.

Villa had signed Vic from Doncaster Rovers and he made 39 appearances in his debut season.

Despite his late arrival at Villa Park, Vic had already tasted glory - winning an Aston Villa Schools Cup medal with Birchfield Road School - which made his “one of the proudest boys in Brum”. Vic had also represented Villa as a guest player in war-time football with his first few games seeing him partner Eric Houghton at full back in the Birmingham and District League.

As a guest, Vic became a fans’ favourite, and in August 1945 Vic’s boyhood dreams came true and he signed professionally with /his/ club.

Quick tackling, hearty defender Vic originally joined Villa as a guest player in War time football and established himself as a first class defender for the club. Vic signed professional forms with Villa in August 1945, a clean and clever tackler with an ability to recover his position quickly, Vic could strike the ball with equal effect on either foot. Vic had played for Tottenham Hotspur’s nursery club, Northfleet, before moving on to Doncaster Rovers in 1938-39 from whom he joined Villa and but for injury, despite his veteran age, would have continued to serve Villa with great stature.

Vic appeared in all 8 of Villa’s matches in the 1947 FA Cup and those fixtures represented his first professional appearances for Villa.

Despite being born but a stone’s throw from Villa Park, Vic would be in his 30s before finally pulling on the claret and blue jersey of his local club, his stylish and courageous tackling quickly endeared him to the Villa faithful, who like his team-mate Les Smith had an uncanny ability to recover from difficult positions that would leave the crowd gasping.

Vic continued his importance to the first team once league football proper had resumed in 1946-47 making a further 36 appearances before playing his final game of 26 in the 1947-48 season, on Wednesday, 14 April 1948, following which he retired from football.

Vic’s final Villa game came at the age of just 32 having played under Villa manager Alex Massie before retiring.

Vic passed away in Sutton Coldfield on 22nd October 1996 aged 81.