William Henry Bury (1865–1939) was an English professional footballer who played as a full back. He was born in Darwen and played in the Football League for Burnley. Bury came to Turf Moor from local rivals Padiham in 1887, having built up a reputation as a hard-tackling defender with a number of local clubs. He immediately established a full-back partnership with Sandy Lang, who had also arrived at Turf Moor from Padiham and the two became stalwarts in the Burnley defence. William Bury appeared in twenty of Burnley's twenty-two League games in that historic first season of League football. 1888-1889 William Bury made his League debut on 8 September 1888, playing as a full–back, at Deepdale, the home of Preston North End. Preston North End won the match 5–2. William Bury appeared in 20 of the 22 League games played by Burnley in season 1888–89. As a full-back (20 appearances) he played in a Burnley defence that achieved four clean sheets and restricted the opposition to one-League-goal-in-a-match on three separate occasions. References 1865 births 1939 deaths English footballers Association football defenders Burnley F.C. players English Football League players People from Darwen Padiham F.C. players