William Lindsay Beattie (c. 1889 – 27 January 1917) was a Scottish professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. He played at club level for Wakefield Trinity (captain), as a forward, and was invited to join the 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, but declined due to business reasons. Beattie served as a commissioned officer with the Border Regiment (initially in the 10th (service) battalion), and latterly in the 1st battalion (ex 34th Foot),[2] and was killed on the Western Front in 1917 during World War I.[3]

Billy Beattie
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Lindsay Beattie
Bornc. 1889
Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland[1]
Died27 January 1917 (aged 27–28)
Western Front
Playing information
PositionForward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1911–14 Wakefield Trinity 90 7 6 0 33

Playing career

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Challenge Cup Final appearances

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Billy Beattie played as a forward in Wakefield Trinity's 0–6 defeat by Hull F.C. in the 1914 Challenge Cup Final during the 1913–14 season at Thrum Hall, Halifax, in front of a crowd of 19,000.[4]

Club career

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Billy Beattie made his début for Wakefield Trinity during December 1911, and he played his last match for Wakefield Trinity during October 1914, he appears to have scored no drop-goals (or field-goals as they are currently known in Australasia), but prior to the 1974–75 season all goals, whether; conversions, penalties, or drop-goals, scored 2-points, consequently prior to this date drop-goals were often not explicitly documented, therefore '0' drop-goals may indicate drop-goals not recorded, rather than no drop-goals scored. In addition, prior to the 1949–50 season, the archaic field-goal was also still a valid means of scoring points.

References

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  1. ^ 1911 England Census
  2. ^ Tony Collins (18 Apr 2006). Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain: A Social and Cultural History. League Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-0415396158
  3. ^ Mike Rylance (22 August 2013). "Trinity: A History of the Wakefield Rugby League Football Club 1872-2013". League Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-1901347289
  4. ^ "A complete history of Hull FC's Challenge Cup finals". Hull Daily Mail. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
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