Walter Darling Fleming "Wattie" Jackson (9 January 1898 – 1951) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

center forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

. He spent five seasons in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

, at least one in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

and two in the American Soccer League. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

but raised in

Renton, West Dunbartonshire Renton (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Reantan''; Scots language, Scots: ''The Renton'') is a village in West Dunbartonshire, in the west Central Lowlands of Scotland. In the 2001 National Census it had a population of 2,138. Renton is particularly fam ...

from a very early age, Jackson and his younger brother

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

both played professionally. In 1920, Jackson began his career with

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

of the

. In 1923, while visiting relatives in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, he came to the attention

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

who had recently lost center forward Daniel McNiven to the

New York Field Club New York F.C. (also known as the New York Field Club) was a name used by two early twentieth-century American soccer clubs. History Founded in 1916 as the New York Football Club, the team was originally a member of the semi-professional National ...

. The team tracked down Jackson in Michigan and offered him $25.00 per week to play for Bethlehem. This was nearly triple his salary in Scotland and on 25 August 1923, signed with the ''Steelmen'', along with his brother. After one season in the United States, the Jacksons returned to Scotland to join

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Wattie Jackson
AFC Heritage Trust – Alex moved on after one season, but Wattie stayed for a second, although in October 1925 he joined

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. In 1927, he returned to the United States where he re-signed with Bethlehem Steel. He played only thirteen games that season before moving to the

Philadelphia Centennials The Centennial baseball club, or Philadelphia Centennials in modern nomenclature, were a short-lived baseball team in the National Association in 1875. They were named the Centennial club during a time when the city of Philadelphia was busy makin ...

of the

Eastern Professional Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

References

External links

* Scottish men's footballers Kilmarnock F.C. players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players Aberdeen F.C. players Yoker Athletic F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) players Centennial F.C. players 1898 births 1951 deaths Date of death missing Men's association football forwards Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish Football League players Footballers from West Dunbartonshire Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish emigrants to the United States People from Renton, West Dunbartonshire {{Scotland-footy-forward-1890s-stub