| William Cousar |
 William Cousar was born on Thursday, 19th August, 1880, in Irvine, North Ayrshire. The forward signed for Thistle on Tuesday, 30th July, 1901, having most recently been with Irvine Meadow XI. Aged 20, he made his debut appearance on Thursday, 15th August, 1901, in a 1-1 friendly draw at home to St Bernard's. William scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 24th August, 1901, in a 2-2 draw away to Abercorn in the SFL Second Division. He scored the last of his 3 goals on Saturday, 28th September, 1901, in a 3-1 win away to Glasgow University in the Glasgow Cup. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 5th October, 1901, in a 2-0 defeat away to St Bernard's in the SFL Second Division, having appeared as a Jag on 7 occasions. His club-list included Irvine Meadow XI, Partick Thistle, Irvine Victoria and Ashfield. William died on Tuesday, 18th January, 1949, in Coquitlam, British Columbia, aged 68. |
 The son of John Cousar (mason) and Margaret Cousar (née Ness). Mum and Dad married in 1868 in Kilmaurs. At the time of the April 1881 census, both of his parents were 37. 7-month-old William shared the house with 4 older sisters and 1 older brother; Agnes (11), Mary (9), Maggie (7), Jeanie (5) and John (2). Maggie Coghill (19) was their live-in domestic servant. He married Annie Hislop. William and his brother John were founder members of the Meadow XI club in 1895, when they left another Irvine juvenile club called Hill Rangers. Their new club had a mixed first season, but then everything clicked in their second and they went through their fixtures unbeaten and won the three competitions they entered. Both brothers were forwards, John being particularly prolific. When Meadow turned junior in 1897, William - along with Hugh Allan - was given the task of going to Lumley’s Sports Outfitters in Glasgow to buy a new set of royal blue jerseys. Previously the club had played in light blue shirts. William took on the dual role of Player/Secretary. He mainly played on the inside left for Thistle, but his first team career was over all too quickly, spanning just the first two months of the 1901-02 season. This, despite the fact that he returned 3 goals in a 4 game personal spell. He returned to the junior grade in 1902 and had spells with Irvine Victoria and Ashfield. William was a joiner to trade and he took the decision to emigrate to Canada, doing so on the 16th June, 1906. As deduced from his gravestone, he served and survived in the first World War with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia, in January, 1949. On account of his service during WWI, William is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle Returned →. |
| (WS/JK) |
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