| William Campbell |
 William Campbell was born on Sunday, 17th January, 1886, in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire. The goalkeeper signed for George Easton's Thistle on Friday, 23rd April, 1909, having most recently been with Kilmacolm. Aged 23, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 24th April, 1909, in a 2-0 defeat away to Clyde in the SFL First Division. William kept his first clean-sheet on Saturday, 23rd April, 1910, in a 3-0 friendly win at home to Raith Rovers. He registered the last of his 48 clean-sheets on Saturday, 25th December, 1915, in a 1-0 win away to Morton in the Scottish Football League. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 22nd January, 1916, in a 1-1 draw away to Aberdeen in the Scottish Football League, having clocked up 177 appearances as a Jag. His club-list included Kilmacolm, Partick Thistle and Barrow. We don't know where or when William died. *
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 Kilmacolm-born goalkeeper William joined the Jags on St George’s Day 1909, and played his first senior game a day later, on the 24th April. Thistle were beaten 2-0 by Clyde in an SFL First Division match at Shawfield. Thistle finished bottom of the table, but avoided relegation in what was a homeless season. The following season, with the Jags having moved to Firhill, things were a bit better, but Willie Howden initially claimed the number 1 jersey, with Willie Campbell taking over in October. William played in the first competitive match at Firhill, the 3-1 Scottish Cup 1st Round victory over Dumbarton Harp on 18 September 1909. He wouldn’t have been happy at conceding the first competitive goal scored at Firhill, though. The Jags finished up 4th that season. In March 1912, William was in goal for the 2-0 defeat of Barrow at Holker Park. Just months later, he would join the Cumbrian club and played 43 league & cup games, keeping 15 clean-sheets during the 1912-13 season. By May 1913 he was back at Firhill, beginning his second spell with a 3-1 defeat away to Rangers in the semi final of the Glasgow Charity Cup. In 1913-14 William was first choice Thistle keeper, likewise the following season. In all he played 177 times for the Jags, keeping 48 clean sheets, a wonderful record. The keeper played a representative match for Glasgow against Sheffield in October 1911 when Sheffield beat Glasgow 2-1 at Cathkin Park. He also represented the Army in a benefit match at Cappielow, on 12 May 1917, when Morton beat the army select 5-2. With regard to his war service, a very interesting bit of info in the Parish of Kilmalcolm's Roll of Service 1914-18 reveals that he was a piper with the Royal Scots Fusiliers. On account of his service during WWI, William is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle Returned →. |
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