William Alexander Devlin (30 July 1899 – 23 July 1972) was a Scottish professional footballer, best remembered for his two spells as a centre forward in the Scottish League with Cowdenbeath, for whom he scored 123 goals in 155 appearances.[3] He also played for Scottish League clubs Heart of Midlothian, King's Park, Clyde and for Football League clubs Huddersfield Town and Liverpool.[1][3][4][5]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Alexander Devlin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 July 1899 | ||
| Place of birth | Bellshill, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 23 July 1972 (aged 72)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1920–1921 | Vale of Clyde | ||
| 1921–1922 | Clyde | 10 | (2) |
| 1921–1922 | → King's Park (loan) | 13 | (19) |
| 1922–1926 | Cowdenbeath | 135 | (118) |
| 1926–1927 | Huddersfield Town | 32 | (14) |
| 1927 | Liverpool | 19 | (15) |
| 1927–1928 | Heart of Midlothian | 15 | (12) |
| 1928–1929 | Macclesfield | 23 | (18) |
| 1929–1930 | Cowdenbeath | 20 | (5) |
| 1930–1931 | Mansfield Town | ||
| 1931 | Burton Town | ||
| 1931 | Shelbourne | ||
| 1931–1932 | Macclesfield | 0 | (0) |
| 1932 | Bangor City | ||
| 1932–1933 | Marseille | ||
| 1933–1934 | Boston United | ||
| 1934–1935 | Ashton National | ||
| 1935–1936 | Marseille | ||
| FC Zürich | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Personal life
editCareer statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Clyde | 1921–22[3] | Scottish First Division | 9 | 2 | — | — | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1922–23[3] | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 10 | 2 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
| King's Park (loan) | 1921–22[3] | Scottish Second Division | 13 | 19 | 3 | 2 | — | 16 | 21 | |
| Cowdenbeath | 1922–23[3] | Scottish Second Division | 31 | 20 | 2 | 4 | — | 33 | 24 | |
| 1923–24[3] | 36 | 25 | 2 | 2 | — | 38 | 27 | |||
| 1924–25[3] | Scottish First Division | 38 | 33 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 33 | ||
| 1925–26[3] | 30 | 40 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 40 | |||
| Total | 135 | 118 | 6 | 6 | — | 141 | 124 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 1925–26[7] | First Division | 4 | 4 | — | — | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1926–27[7] | 28 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 10 | |||
| Total | 32 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 14 | |||
| Liverpool | 1926–27[8] | First Division | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | |
| 1927–28[8] | 18 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 14 | |||
| Total | 19 | 15 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 15 | |||
| Heart of Midlothian | 1927–28[9] | Scottish First Division | 15 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1[a] | 0 | 18 | 14 |
| Macclesfield | 1928–29[10] | Cheshire League | 23 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 1 | 24 | 19 |
| Cowdenbeath | 1929–30[3] | Scottish First Division | 20 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 22 | 6 | |
| Macclesfield | 1931–32[11] | Cheshire League | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Boston United | 1933–34[12] | Midland League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 268 | 203 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 283 | 214 | ||
- ^ Appearance in Dunedin Cup
- ^ Appearance in Cheshire Senior Cup
Honours
editCowdenbeath
- Scottish League Second Division second-place promotion: 1923–24[13]
Individual
- Scottish League First Division top scorer (2): 1924–25, 1925–26[14]
- Cowdenbeath Hall of Fame[13]
References
edit- ^ a b Joyce, Michael (16 October 2012). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939 (3rd Revised ed.). Tony Brown. p. 80. ISBN 9781905891610.
- ^ a b "William Alexander Devlin". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
- ^ Thomas, Ian; Thomas, Owen; Hodgson, Alan; Ward, John (18 October 2007). 99 Years and Counting: Stats and Stories. Huddersfield: Huddersfield Town Football Club. ISBN 9780955728105.
- ^ "Player Profiles - D". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ "Devlin Willie Cowdenbeath 1925". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Players – Player Profile". Huddersfield Town AFC Archive. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ a b "William Devlin". 11v11.com. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ "Willie Devlin – Hearts Career – from 31 Dec 1927 to 30 Apr 1928". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ "Season Statistics – Cheshire League – 1928–29". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ "Season Statistics – Cheshire League – 1931–32". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ "Boston United Roll Call". www.bufc.drfox.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Willie Devlin – Staff Biography". Cowdenbeath FC – Blue Brazil Online. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ Brown, Alan (5 June 2014). "Scotland – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
External links
edit
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