The great ‘Joe Bach’ will never be forgotten
WHAT he achieved as a manager alone with the great Llangefni Town sides of the late 1980s and early 90s would have been enough to secure Joe Williams legendary status in Anglesey football.
But before all that the man known to everyone affectionately as “Joe Bach” had earned huge acclaim as a player in the 1960s with Holyhead Town.
North Wales football lost one of its favourite sons this month when Joe, of Llangefni, passed away at the age of 78.
His finest playing years were at Holyhead between 19601970, then he later managed the much revered Llangefni side whose most notable feat was winning the Welsh Intermediate Cup in 1991-92.
Joe started his football career in 1959 at Penmaenmawr under the late Orig Williams.
A prolific goalscorer with Pen, a year later Joe moved to Holyhead Town, where he was one of few locals in a side largely made up of Merseysidebased players.
The Harbourmen won the Welsh League North championship in 1963/64 under the managership of Harold Bell, who still holds the record for the most consecutive Football League appearances for one club (375 for Tranmere Rovers between 1946-55, 401 in total including FA Cup ties).
Joe was a vital player in that Holyhead team which also included legendary goal-getter Tommy Welsh, who was in his final season with Town before moving to Colwyn Bay.
The pair remained great friends and Tommy is still very much with us, having celebrated his 89th birthday on St Patrick’s Day. During his time at Holyhead, Joe proved his ability to convert from a forward to a wing-half, and also played under former Everton and Eire inside-forward Peter Farrell, as well as Noel Kelly.
In 1967 came one of Joe’s biggest career highlights when Holyhead Town lifted the North Wales Coast Challenge Cup, beating mighty Cheshire League outfit Bangor City 5-3 in the final at The Oval, Caernarfon, Jimmy Blain notching a second-half hat-trick for the Holy Islanders.
Joe was also a Welsh Amateur international and represented the North Wales Coast FA on five consecutive occasions between 1967-71.
He was man of the match in a 1-0 victory over the Scottish Junior FA in 1967 and in 1971 played alongside another Holyhead all-time great, John Edwardson.
After leaving Holyhead, Joe went on to play for Bethesda Athletic and Caernarfon Town before rounding off his career at a Llanfairpwll side which dominated the Anglesey League in the mid 1970s, then later Llangefni Town.
Holyhead Hotspur media officer and renowned North Wales football historian Gareth Davies recalled his memories of “Joe Bach” the player.
“He was a tenacious, box-tobox player; a driving force in the mould of John Mahoney for Wales and a fitness fantastic who always gave 100%,” said Gareth.
“He was an all-action player who no doubt in this day and age could have played at a much higher level.
“Joe will certainly go down in history as one of the finest Holyhead Town players of all-time.”
In the late 1980s, Joe took over as manager of a revitalised Llangefni Town side which won the Gwynedd League title twice before landing the Welsh Alliance championship at the first attempt in 1990/91 and also claimed the same crown twice over the next three seasons.
Cefni also scooped a host of domestic trophies.
But arguably their biggest feat was lifting the Welsh Intermediate Cup in 1991/92, beating Cymru Alliance champions Caersws in the final following a replay.
Llangefni remain the only Anglesey team to win this national competition.
Joe stepped down as manager in 1994, but from then until his untimely passing 24 years later he has always been spoken of in high regard as a true Anglesey football legend.
A father-of-four, he leaves a wife Audrey and numerous grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
His son Andy said: “Football was his life.”
RIP Joe Bach – you will never be forgotten.