Bill White (footballer, born 1877)

William White (1877–1960) was a professional association football player of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He played for Heart of Midlothian, Woolwich Arsenal, New Brompton, Queens Park Rangers and Liverpool, and made a total of 45 appearances in The Football League, scoring 17 goals.[3][4]

Bill White
Personal information
Full name William White
Date of birth 1877 (1877)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland[1]
Date of death 1960 (aged 82–83)
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1894 Broxburn
1896–1897 Heart of Midlothian 3 (0)
1897–1899 Woolwich Arsenal 39 (16)
1899 New Brompton 3 (0)
1899 West Calder
1899–1901 Queens Park Rangers
1901–1902 Liverpool 6 (1)
1902–1903 Dundee
1903–1904 Middlesbrough 7 (0)
1904 Motherwell 5 (0)
1904–? Broxburn
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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White signed for Heart of Midlothian on 30 May 1896 and made his debut for the club in a friendly on 17 August against Leith Athletic in which he also scored.[5][6] He made his league debut a month later on 19 September against Dundee and went on to make a further 2 league appearances.[7] He scored his only other goal for Hearts on his last appearance for the club in a friendly against Blackburn Rovers on 26 April 1897.[8]

He was then sold to Woolwich Arsenal, playing in the Second Division, on 1 July 1897 and made his debut and also scored on 1 September against Grismby Town.[5][9] Across his 3-year stay at the club, White made 39 league appearances and scored 16 times, including a hat-trick against Newton Heath on 3 December 1898.[10][11]

After playing his last match for Arsenal on 4 March 1899 against Small Heath,[12] White signed for New Brompton, who were playing in the Southern League Division One, and made 3 appearances in the remaining season.[13] On 7 September, White signed for Scottish team West Calder, before then signing on 2 November for Queens Park Rangers, who had just turned professional and were playing in the Southern League.[5] He was part of the team that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were playing in the First Division, 1-0 in the FA Cup in a first round replay on 31 January 1900.[14]

On 30 May 1901, White signed for Liverpool, but was ineligible to play until 1 September.[15] He made his debut on 14 September against rivals Everton and he scored in the second minute, becoming the first Liverpool player to score on his debut in the Merseyside derby.[16] This was a feat that was not matched until 117 years later, when Virgil van Dijk scored on 5 January 2018.[17] White went on to make a further 5 appearances for Liverpool.[1]

White left Liverpool at the end of the season and signed for Dundee on 9 July 1902.[15][2] On 2 May, he signed for Middlesbrough after initially wanting to sign for a London club.[18] He made his debut in a 4-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday on 5 September 1903 and went on to make a further 6 league appearances.[19][20] White then signed for Aberdeen on 2 May 1904; however, this was then voided by the Scottish Football Association.[15] Aberdeen then again tried to sign White, but he eventually moved to Motherwell on 16 August after they offered a "substantial sum".[15][21] White made 5 appearances for Motherwell before deciding to move to Broxburn on 10 December 1904, where he had started his career.[22][15][23]

After retiring from football, White became a miner in Broxburn.[1][24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Liverpool career stats for Bill White - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". www.lfchistory.net. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b kjehan (9 July 1902). "William White transferred to Dundee". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  3. ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939. Tony Brown. p. 278. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  4. ^ Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. p. 128. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
  5. ^ a b c "Bill White - Hearts Career - from 17 Aug 1896 to 26 Apr 1897". londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  6. ^ "1896-08-17 Mon Hearts 4 Leith Athletic 4". londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  7. ^ "1896-09-19 Sat Hearts 2 Dundee 2". londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  8. ^ "1897-04-26 Mon Hearts 6 Blackburn Rovers 1". londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Woolwich Arsenal v Grimsby Town, 01 September 1897". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  10. ^ "William White". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Woolwich Arsenal v Newton Heath, 03 December 1898". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Small Heath v Woolwich Arsenal, 04 March 1899". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  13. ^ "William White". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  14. ^ "The Giant Killers". The Giant Killers. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e kjehan (1 January 1980). "William White (William Whyte)". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Matchdetails from Liverpool - Everton played on Saturday 14 September 1901 - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". www.lfchistory.net. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Reliving the night Van Dijk broke a 117-year derby record". This Is Anfield. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  18. ^ kjehan (2 May 1903). "William White transferred to Middlesbrough". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Sheffield Wednesday v Middlesbrough, 05 September 1903". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  20. ^ "William White". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  21. ^ kjehan (21 June 1904). "Motherwell to nick White from Aberdeen?". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  22. ^ "William White". motherWELLnet. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  23. ^ kjehan (14 December 1904). "White back where he once started". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  24. ^ kjehan (25 January 1908). "William White mining at Broxburn". Play Up, Liverpool. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
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