William Marshall Dunn (9 October 1910 – 7 September 1980) was a Scottish professional footballer who played at

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for Celtic,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and Southampton in the 1930s.

Football career

Dunn was born in the Lambhill district of Glasgow, one of a family of 9 footballing brothers. After playing for Newton Villa and

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

, he joined Celtic in February 1933. Having been a prolific scorer in junior football, he continued to score for the reserves, with 51 goals in just over two years, but was unable to carry this form into the first team. He made his first-team debut in a 1–1 draw at

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

on 23 September 1933, and played nine first team games for Celtic, with two goals. In the summer of 1935, he moved south to join

of the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. He was again a prolific scorer in the reserves but only managed one goal in his three first-team matches before he was transferred to Southampton in May 1937. On his arrival at The Dell, the local newspaper praised "his skill and marksmanship". At the start of the 1937–38 season, he took over the centre-forward position previously held by Jimmy Dunne, who had returned to his native Ireland in the summer. His debut came in the opening match of the season, when he scored in a 4–3 defeat at Norwich City. He retained the number 9 shirt for the first nine matches of the season without scoring again and in October he was replaced by Benny Gaughran. Dunn spent most of the rest of the season in the reserves, making only six more first-team appearances, with three more goals. At the end of the season, he refused a new contract and was transfer listed for a fee of £750. He eventually moved back to Scotland to join Raith Rovers, where he had a spell on loan to Bo'ness. During the Second World War, he made a guest appearance at left back for Leeds United in a 7–2 victory over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

in January 1943.

References

External links

Career details on www.11v11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Billy 1910 births 1980 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Ashfield F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Bo'ness F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. wartime guest players Leeds United F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Men's association football forwards Scottish Junior Football Association players Albion Rovers F.C. wartime guest players