The high spot of his short Southampton career for Fratton-born Billy Stead was the first-ever FA Cup meeting between the Saints and his home-town club. The 18 year-old had started the 1905-06 season as the third-choice goalkeeper behind George Clawley and Tom Burrows. But come Christmas, injuries propelled him up the queue and, in rapid succession, he had his first start in the Western League, the Southern League and the Cup.

What might have been a nerve-wracking Cup-tie, as Pompey strove to unsettle the rookie ’keeper, turned out to be nothing of the sort.

Utterly belying his youth and inexperience, Billy showed no signs of nerves, as the Saints romped to a 5-1 win.

But the following Saturday, he had his last first-team outing for the club. Clawley returned to the Southern League goal and Stead was soon on his way – to Hampshire League football with Salisbury. Although he would try his luck in the Scottish League with Aberdeen and in the Football League with Clapton Orient, he would keep returning to Salisbury, before ending his career with Thornycroft in Basingstoke. Before joining Saints Billy was in the Royal Navy as a boy shiphand and between March 1902 and October 1903 was based in Portsmouth Dockyard, but he was discharged for being idle and avoiding his duties. After the First World War during which he served with the Somersets, he returned to naval life, becoming  a seaman aboard the Mauritania and later he sailed on the Durban Castle, while working for the Union Castle Line. He died suddenly at his home in Bassett Green Road, aged 51, having just returned from Cape Town on a trip.