His full name was Levi William Draycott but he was just as likely to answer to Levi as he was to Billy. Either way, he was a speed merchant, winning several medals in both running and bicycle races in the Potteries in the early 1890s.
Draycott began his footballing career as a forward, and a high scoring one at that. He was with Stoke's reserve team in 1889 when he was selected to represent Staffordshire Juniors against their Cheshire counterparts. He then moved to Burslem Port Vale before returning to Stoke in 1891-92. Levi, however, could hardly force his way into in the first team, appearing in just two league games in three seasons.
Thus, he joined Burton Wanderers in 1894 and, by now converted to half-back, managed to play 53 league and cup matches in two seasons. That was when he was signed by Newton Heath where he took over David Fitzsimmons' right-half spot. Levi made an explosive start to his Heathen career despite operating in midfield, scoring four goals in his first 10 Division Two outings by October 1896.
In fact, for three seasons, the hard-working Draycott was a regular first-team member, appearing in 46, 37, and 41 games of all manner. Although he only added two more goals to his initial burst, he aided Heath to runners-up spot in the Second Division in 1896-97 then played in the Lancashire Senior Cup final triumph over Blackburn Rovers in 1897-98.
In May 1899, Levi exchanged the Football League for the Southern League where he would spend the rest of his career. He served Bedminster in 1899-00, playing 27 matches, then Bristol Rovers in 1900-01 (13 games), before hooking up with Wellingborough in their inaugural season of 1901-02 (30 matches). Levi retired at the end of that campaign and took over a trainer's position with Luton Town. However, he got to play one more game in February 1903 when the Hatters were suffering from a hefty injury crisis. By pure coincidence, the fixture was against his former club, Wellingborough. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude.
