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| William Gray |
 William Charles Gray was born on Tuesday, 21st December, 1915, in Inverness. The 5' 8 (12st 12lbs) forward signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Monday, 21st September, 1936, having most recently been with Inverness Thistle. Aged 20, he made his debut appearance on Monday, 28th September, 1936, in a 3-0 win at home to Clyde in the Glasgow Cup. William scored his first goal for Thistle on Wednesday, 11th November, 1936, in a 6-1 defeat away to Rangers in the Glasgow Cup. He scored the last of his 6 goals on Saturday, 13th February, 1937, in a 4-1 win at home to Arbroath in the Scottish Cup. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 6th March, 1937, in a 3-1 defeat at home to Third Lanark in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 26 occasions. His club-list included Inverness Thistle, Glentoran, Partick Thistle, Cowdenbeath and York City. William died in 1991, in Inverness, aged 75. *
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 Young William, a winger, took his father's name and proceeded to follow in his footsteps in a remarkably similar way. His father (known as Bill) played for Inverness Thistle, Partick Thistle, Dunblane, Southampton and Raith Rovers, but lost his life at Somme during the First World War at just 34 years of age. William Jr. never knew his father - he was only 11 months old when his Dad lost his life. Like his father, William started out in his hometown with Inverness Thistle and landed at Partick Thistle for a spell. He would also play down South and in Fife. Co-incidence or a planned route!? In 1935, he also had a spell in the Irish League with Glentoran, before returning to play in his hometown. In 1936-37 (his sole season as a Jag) William, in his very early 20s, scored 6 goals in 26 games, including counters against both halves of the Old Firm! His goals contributed to top-flight wins over Motherwell (1-0, November) and Kilmarnock (4-0, December) as well as Scottish Cup wins over Ayr United (2-0, January) and Arbroath (4-1, February). William left Thistle for Cowdenbeath, and signed with York City in the close season of 1939. |
| (WS/JK) |
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