Walter "Watty" Keay (16 January 1871 – 16 January 1943) 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 ...

who played as an

inside 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 various clubs, including Partick Thistle in Scotland and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in England. His main claim to fame was scoring the first goal at The Dell stadium on its opening on 3 September 1898.

Football career

Early career

Keay was born in

Whiteinch Whiteinch ( gd, Innis Bhàn) is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde, between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city. Whiteinch was at one stage part of the burgh of Partick, until that ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and played as a youth for various local sides before starting his professional career at nearby Partick Thistle. He later moved south to Darlington to seek fame and fortune before signing for

in July 1893.

Derby County

He spent two seasons with the Midlands club, supplying the crosses for

Steve Bloomer Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...

, John McMillan and

John Goodall John Goodall (19 June 1863 – 20 May 1942) was a footballer who rose to fame as a centre forward for England and for Preston North End at the time of the development of the Football League, and also became Watford's first manager in 1903. He ...

to score. Derby finished third in Division 1 in 1893–94, scoring 73 goals in 30 games, but in the following season they finished fifteenth and had to play-off against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, who were relegated.

Southampton

In the spring of 1895, Charles Robson, the newly appointed secretary/manager of Southampton St. Mary's, and Alfred McMinn, one of the club committee, visited the Midlands in search of new players to strengthen the team ready for their second season in the Southern League. McMinn was a native of Staffordshire and was "''most persuasive on his home turf''". On this trip, Robson and McMinn signed six players: Keay, Joe Turner, Jack Farrell,

Samuel Meston Samuel Meston (16 January 1872 – 14 August 1948) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half-back for Stoke and Southampton. Whilst with Southampton, he appeared in two FA Cup Finals and won six Southern League championship ...

and Willie Naughton from Stoke and Alf Wood from Burslem Port Vale, as well as recruiting Stoke's long-serving trainer, Bill Dawson. The Saints committee were anxious to secure their services and signed then before

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

season was over. Port Vale and Stoke lodged a complaint with

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

about "''poaching''", and an emergency FA meeting was held at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, resulting in the Saints being severely censured for negligence. St Mary's were ordered to pay their own costs, plus £4 6s 3d to Stoke and £1 13s to Port Vale. McMinn was suspended for a year and Dawson for a month. Wood's registration with St Mary's was cancelled (shortly afterwards he moved to Stoke). In the next four seasons, Keay featured regularly as Southampton won the League for three consecutive seasons from 1896–97 to 1898–99. Keay was the catalyst that helped knit the forward line together and he formed a useful partnership with Joe Turner, with Keay creating the chances for Turner to convert. In his first season with Southampton St. Mary's (who were then playing at the

Antelope Ground The Antelope Ground, Southampton was a sports ground that was the first home of both Hampshire County Cricket Club, who played there prior to 1884, and of Southampton Football Club, who played there from 1887 to 1896 as "Southampton St. Mary' ...

) the club finished third in the Southern League. In the summer of

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

, the club moved to the County Cricket Ground. The Saints forward line was boosted by the signing of Bob Buchanan from Woolwich Arsenal, with the defence being strengthened by the signing of

George Clawley George Clawley (10 April 1875 – 16 July 1920) was an English professional goalkeeper who played for Stoke, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was the goalkeeper for the Spurs side that ...

from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. Southampton exceeded the achievements of the two previous seasons, winning the Southern League title without losing a match, as well as reaching the Second Round Proper of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, where they went out to

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial R ...

in a replay. The 1897–98 season followed a similar pattern, with Southampton retaining their league title, and advancing to the semi-final of the FA Cup, losing to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in a controversial replay. After two years in their temporary home at the County Ground in Northlands Road, in 1898 Southampton found a permanent home close by in Archers Road. The Dell ground was officially opened on 3 September with a match against Brighton United. Saints took an early lead, with Keay scoring the opening goal following "a little finessing" from Tom Smith, and Southampton went on to secure a 4–1 victory. Joe Turner had moved to Stoke in the summer of 1898 and The "Saints" struggled to find an adequate replacement at outside-right, with neither Jim McKenzie nor George Seeley holding down the position for long. As a consequence, Keay's form started to decline and he was in and out of the side, with only one league appearance from January onwards. He made one further appearance in November 1899 and retired in the 1900 close season. On his retirement in 1900, Southampton's grateful fans presented Keay with an inscribed pocket-watch. In all he made 83 league and FA cup appearances for the "Saints", scoring 28 goals.

After retirement

After retiring from professional football (aged 28) he remained in the

area and became a local publican for several years. He later became a shipwright for

Camper and Nicholsons Camper and Nicholson was a yacht design and manufacturing company based in Gosport, England, for over two hundred years, constructing many significant vessels, such as Gipsy Moth IV and Prince Philip's yacht Bloodhound. Its customers included Th ...

at Shamrock Quay and in 1923 he also coached Southampton's reserves. In 1923, he returned to the Dell as a reserve team coach and in the 1930s he scouted for Southampton FC.

Honours

Southampton * Southern League champions: 1896–97, 1897–98, 1898–99

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keay, Watty 1871 births 1943 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Partick Thistle F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Association football inside forwards Scottish footballers People from Partick