Charlie Williams MBE (23 December 1928—2 September 2006) was a black English professional footballer and stand-up comedian. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Black British is a term which has been used by different people in different ways. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi   - Water (%) Population... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Williams was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire. His father was a coalminer, who had emigrated from Barbados and settled in Royston. After leaving school, Charlie worked at Upton Colliery. He played football for the colliery team, before turning professional, and signing for Doncaster Rovers in 1948. However, it was not until 1955 that, playing centre-half, he became an established first team player. He played 171 times for Rovers in total. Barnsley is a large town in South Yorkshire, England, lying on the River Dearne, approximately twenty kilometres north of Sheffield. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Map sources for Royston, South Yorkshire at grid reference SE3511 Royston is a town in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire, England), on the border with West Yorkshire. ... Upton, West Yorkshire, UK is a town south of Badsworth and north of North Elmsall. ... Wyoming coal mine Coal mining is the mining of coal. ... Doncaster Rovers club badge Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based at Belle Vue in the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. ... In the sport of football, each of the eleven players in a team are assigned to a particular position on the field of play. ...

Following his retirement from the game in 1959, Williams tried his hand as a singer in local working men's clubs, but it was his comic chat between the songs that was best received, so he decided to move into comedy full-time. He eventually became Britain's first well-known black television comedian; he regularly appeared on The Comedians, and from 1973 to 1974 he was the host of The Golden Shot. His Yorkshire accent made him unmistakeable. Working Mens clubs are a formally organized type of private social club (Also see C&IU). ... NOTE: This article does not refer to the Graham Greene novel The Comedians. The Comedians is a British television show from the 1970s (later reprised in the 1980s) which gave a stage to nightclub and working mens club comedians of the era, including Stan Boardman, Frank Carson, and Bernard... The Golden Shot was a British television game show, based on the German Der Goldener Schuss, produced by ATV between 1967 and 1975. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Williams was created a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1999 for his charity work. In 2004 Charlie Williams was voted Doncaster Rovers' all-time cult hero by viewers of the BBC's Football Focus programme.^[1] Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, sometimes also known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, founded in 1922. ... Football Focus is a BBC television show covering football. ...

Willliams died on 2 September 2006 in Barnsley General Hospital. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease and dementia for some time.^[2] September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other senses of this word, see dementia (disambiguation). ...

Catchphrase

• "... me old flower."

External links

• Doncaster Rovers – Famous Players – Charlie Williams
• Black British History - Charlie Williams
• Charlie Williams Donny Joke Box
• BBC Guide to Comedy - The Comedians
• BBC Guide to Comedy - The Charlie Williams Show

References

1. ^ Doncaster's cult heroes. BBC Sport.
2. ^ Comic Charlie Williams dies at 78. BBC News.