Willie Layton had an extraordinary piece of fortune in his early Wednesday career.  On Sunday 10th November 1895 he was due to be working his usual night shift as a miner at Blackwell Colliery, Alfreton.  However he was due to play in a trial match for Wednesday the following day and he decided at the very last minute to not go to work so he was rested for the match in the hope that he made a good impression with a view to gaining a professional contract with Wednesday.

That night there was an explosion in the mine and seven miners were killed.  On learning of the terrible accident that had taken the lives of seven of his best mates, Layton saw this as an act of fate and said that if Wednesday signed him on he would never leave them or seek a transfer until he retired as a mark of respect for his fellow workers and to acknowledge how very lucky he had been.  He stuck to his word and stayed with the club until he retired in 1910.