William M Ritchie (born 1895) was a Scottish

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 for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

and

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

. His career was brought to an end in 1923 when he was implicated in a

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

scandal from three years earlier when it was found Bury had accepted payments from

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

to prevent the latter's relegation, and Ritchie was banned for life along with several others.Coventry Match-Fixing Scandal Relegates Imps
The Stacey West, 17 November 2017

References

1895 births Scottish men's footballers Dumbarton F.C. players Bury F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Year of death missing Men's association football outside forwards Footballers from West Dunbartonshire People from Renton, West Dunbartonshire {{Scotland-footy-forward-1890s-stub