William Devlin (footballer, born 1899)

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]

William Devlin
Personal information
Full name William Alexander Devlin[1]
Date of birth (1899-07-30)30 July 1899
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Date of death 23 July 1972(1972-07-23) (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)
1921–1922King'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

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Devlin's brother Tom was also a footballer.[6]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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
  1. ^ Appearance in Dunedin Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in Cheshire Senior Cup

Honours

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Cowdenbeath

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b Joyce, Michael (16 October 2012). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939 (3rd Revised ed.). Tony Brown. p. 80. ISBN 9781905891610.
  2. ^ a b "William Alexander Devlin". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Player Profiles - D". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Devlin Willie Cowdenbeath 1925". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Players – Player Profile". Huddersfield Town AFC Archive. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b "William Devlin". 11v11.com. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Willie Devlin – Hearts Career – from 31 Dec 1927 to 30 Apr 1928". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Season Statistics – Cheshire League – 1928–29". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Season Statistics – Cheshire League – 1931–32". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Boston United Roll Call". www.bufc.drfox.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Willie Devlin – Staff Biography". Cowdenbeath FC – Blue Brazil Online. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  14. ^ Brown, Alan (5 June 2014). "Scotland – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
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