Grealish wants more information on his FA Cup winning great, great grandfather
Jack Grealish doesn’t know much about his great, great grandfather - apart from the fact that he won the league and FA Cup with Aston Villa and also played for England.
Billy Garraty was one of the great players of the Victorian era, finishing as top goalscorer as Villa were crowned champions in 1900 - and then producing a man-of-the-match performance five years later in a 2-0 FA Cup final victory over Newcastle in front of 101,117 fans at the Crystal Palace. He was the great grandfather of Grealish's mum, Karen.
Like Jack, he operated as a winger or inside forward - but one thing he did possess was an eye for goal that saw him hit the back of the net 111 times for the midlands club. He is still eighth on Villa’s all-time list of goalscorers.
Yet despite his feats for the club Grealish loved as a boy and captained as a man, the family would like to know more about the descendent who was also a bit of a Jack the Lad.
Grealish said: “I don’t know a lot about him, apart from the fact he won the league and cup with Villa. I have no idea what happened to his medals. I’d love to know more about him.”
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It might resonate with the Manchester City midfielder that Garraty was described as “having a confidence that borders on arrogance.” A portrait of Garraty hangs in the family home in Birmingham.
Grealish’s dad, Kevin, joked: “Billy came from Karen’s side of the family - and that has caused a few rows because her family keep telling us that Jack inherited his skills from them! I do know that Billy once got fined for poaching rabbits. Meat was rare in those days - even for footballers!”
Billy Garraty was one of the best players of the Victorian era (Popperfoto/Getty Images)
Garraty won the FA Cup with Villa in 1905 (Alamy Stock Photo)Garraty appeared before local magistrates at Coleshill Police Court along with two other men in July 1904 after being caught on the estate of Lord Aylesford. Garraty denied the offence, claiming he was out walking to maintain fitness - but all three were fined 20 shillings and ordered to pay costs.
The previous year, the Aston-born forward won his only England cap when he played in a 2-1 victory over Wales at Portsmouth’s Fratton Park in the British Championship. Garraty signed professional terms with Villa in August 1897 just a few months after they had become only the second club to win the league and FA Cup double. He had played for local clubs Ashted Swifts, St Saviour’s, Highfield Villa and Aston Swifts.
Grealish ended up following in his great, great grandfather's footsteps (Paul Currie/REX/Shutterstock)Garraty scored six goals in just nine games as Villa were crowned champions again in 1899 - but really hit the heights the following season when they retained the title by finishing two points ahead of Sheffield United. He finished top goalscorer in the first division with 27 goals after scoring an opening-day winner at Sunderland and hitting four goals in a 9-0 home victory over Glossop the following week.
Garraty also missed two penalties that season and even went almost three months without scoring after being sidelined with injury. But a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Sunderland in December opened the floodgates - and Garraty scored eight goals as the club lost just once in their last 13 games to finish top of the table.
A spectacular strike in a 2-0 victory at Manchester City, crowned a display that prompted a journalist to report: “Garraty’s performance was of the highest order.” Garraty finished 31 goals in all competitions that season - only Villa legend Pongo Waring has scored more in a single campaign for the club, with 49 in 1930-31.
He continued to score with regularity over the next few seasons. But his finest moment came with a brilliant performance in the FA Cup final victory over champions Newcastle.
The league championship winning Aston Villa team of the 1899-1900 season (Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)Garraty left Villa after 11 years to join Leicester Fosse for £300. Around 113 years later, his great, great grandson would move to City for £100million.
He later returned to the club as a trainer following spells with West Brom and Lincoln, but stood down after suffering a severe bout of pneumonia and was a delivery driver for Ansells Brewery before becoming a pub landlord. Garraty died in Aston at the age of just 52 in May 1931 after once again contracting pneumonia.
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