| Willie Whittle |
 William Cameron Whittle was born on Wednesday, 9th April, 1890, in Glasgow. The 5' 8 (13st 0lbs) forward signed for George Easton's Thistle on Tuesday, 1st September, 1914, having most recently been with Kilmarnock. Aged 24, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 5th September, 1914, in a 4-1 win at home to Motherwell in the SFL First Division. That day, Willie became a member of our scoring debutant's club, and even added a second for good measure. He scored the last of his 62 goals on Saturday, 10th January, 1920, in a 3-1 win at home to Airdrieonians in the Scottish Football League. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 17th January, 1920, in a 1-0 defeat away to Motherwell in the Scottish Football League, having clocked up 158 appearances as a Jag. His club-list included Pollok, Cambuslang Rangers, Bristol Rovers, Third Lanark, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Broxburn United and Alloa Athletic. Willie died on Wednesday, 10th April, 1974, in Glasgow, aged 84. |
 Willie took the standard route to the professional game, getting his name in the papers as Pollok began to establish themselves in junior football as the decade turned in 1910. After a spell with Cambuslang Rangers, Willie's first senior move was to Bristol Rovers of the Southern League First Division for the start of 1911-12. By December however, he was back up the road and signed with Third Lanark, his most high profile club yet. Thirds got to the Scottish Cup semi final that season, and Willie played in the 3-1 defeat to Clyde at Hampden Park. He was now a regular first teamer wherever he played and another season with Thirds was followed by a full term at Kilmarnock in 1913-14. The centre forward moved back to Glasgow in September 1914 and became a Jag. Firhill would be home for the rest of the decade and he was a success, even if his spell was blighted by the backdrop of a World War. He finished top scorer in his first season with 22 competitive goals - it was a fantastic start, with many highlights. Willie scored in a 2-0 win over Rangers to take Thistle to a Glasgow Cup final. He scored in the 1-1 draw with Clyde too, but it was silver in the end as the Bully Wee took the Cup in the replay, one to nil. A bnace at Dens Park in February 1915 ensured an excellent 2-1 win - Willie was on the form of his life at this time with 17 goals in his first 23 games. Scoring the only goal of the game in an April League win at Ibrox was the cherry on top of Willie's excellent season, the club finishing joint 7th in the final analysis. Jags were Top 6 in the 1915-16 season which followed, although Willie's competitive goals tally halved to 11. This despite his first two hat-tricks being recorded; in a 3-2 home win over Morton in the League opener in August and in a 4-0 Glasgow Cup win against Queen's Park in May. He put another hat-trick in the history books the following season and was wholly responsible for the 3-0 League win at home to Ayr United in August 1916. Willie never recaptured the hot-start he'd made, but he made a valuable and steady contribution during the 1910s. Two runners-up medals were earned in the local cups, but Thistle as a club were yet to make the psychological breakthrough of gold in either. Willie remained on the books at Firhill until the summer of 1923, but in reality had signed out of action as a Jag, with consensual spells at Broxburn Athletic and Alloa Athletic affording him the game time that he craved in his early 30s. In his personal life Willie married Mary Robertson. His beloved wife died on 5th March, 1953, aged 65. Willie was a widower for 21 years and he himself passed away the day after his 84th birthday. The couple rest together in the southside of Glasgow, at Old Eastwood Cemetery on Thornliebank Road. |
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