| William Reid [i] |
 William Reid was born on Tuesday, 2nd May, 1876, in Mauchline, East Ayrshire. The 5' 6 (11st 12lbs) forward signed for Thistle on Friday, 28th December, 1900, having most recently been with Kilmarnock. Aged 24, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 29th December, 1900, in a 4-0 defeat away to Dundee in the SFL First Division. William scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 31st August, 1901, in a 2-0 win at home to East Stirlingshire in the SFL Second Division. He scored the last of his 7 goals on Saturday, 12th April, 1902, in a 5-3 defeat away to Port Glasgow Athletic in the Western League. He played his last game for the club on Monday, 26th September, 1904, in a 1-0 defeat at home to Hibernian in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 53 occasions. His club-list included Stevenston Thistle, Kilmarnock Athletic, Minerva, Kilmarnock, Newcastle United, Partick Thistle, Galston and Thornhill. William died on Wednesday, 13th September, 1923, in Mauchline, East Ayrshire, aged 47. |
![William Reid [i]](http://thethistlearchive.wdfiles.com/local--files/images/william-reid-i.jpg "William Reid [i]")
 'Roggie', as he was known, arrived from Rugby Park for a £30 fee. A left-sided forward, he found goals hard to come by at Meadowside, as Thistle sought to establish themselves as a top-flight outfit. He did, however, add a bit of steel to the team. Or, as Bill Donnachie's 'Who's Who' of Kilmarnock players put it: “He unfortunately had a reputation for mixing it unnecessarily.” Thistle v Port Glasgow fixtures were notoriously robust at this time, and it was perhaps of little surprise that our man was caught up in a bit of a sketch in May, 1902. In an end of season Western League game at Meadowside, champions Port were the better team and poor refereeing led to play that was “more than usually forcible”. Reid was ordered off for striking 2 Port players, but in the 2nd half there were chances at both ends before Conner got the winner for the ten men. The goal was described in the Port Glasgow Express as “yards off-side”! Kilmarnock historian David Ross tells that he had signed for them after playing well for Kilmarnock Athletic when they beat Killie in the 1897 Ayrshire Cup Final. He made his Killie debut v Port Glasgow Athletic on May 11th 1897 and played his last match v Hearts on Dec 8th 1900. His younger brother Andrew made his debut for Killie in 1900 and the two played together several times. 'Roggie' also scored seven times in ten Scottish Cup ties. He won 2nd division championship medals in 1898 and 1899 and also played in the Scottish Cup Final in 1898. He played in the international trials in 1897-98. Whilst at Killie, he had been loaned out to Newcastle United for a short spell. In March 1899, the local press wrote: “Inside/outside-left William Reid (22) signs from Kilmarnock on loan. He is 5' 6", and 11st 12lb. He has been in brilliant form this season (scoring 12 goals in 16 games) and played a meritorious game in the Scotland trial games. He is said to be the best left-wing in the Land O'Cakes with a wonderful finish in his footwork and the ability to shoot with deadly effect.” After Thistle, he stepped back to the lower leagues with Galston of Ayrshire & Thornhill of Dumfries-shire. Daily Record 2/2/1914 has a piece about the 14th annual dinner of the Minerva "Ancients" in White's restaurant. A Mr. Walter Campbell presided and amongst those attending were David Stewart (QP), James Clelland (Third Lanark and St Bernard's), John Harvey (PT) and W Reid (PT). All were said to be ex-Minerva players. |
| (WS/AFK) |
click on image to enlarge (magnifiable if deemed necessary by your browser)