Billy Kirton achieved what most players could only dream of. For he scored the winning goal in an FA Cup final (for Aston Villa in 1920), and was capped for England, scoring in his only game - against Ireland in October 1921. These highlights came however, only after the ignominy of watching himself being auctioned in October 1919. He had made only one appearance for Leeds City before the club was disbanded on the instructions of the FA.

All the players were auctioned off and Kirton was bought by Villa for £500. He played 261 times for Villa, but had not played for over 12 months when signed by City in September 1928. The fee of £1700 was large and he only played 17 games for City in 2 injury troubled seasons.