William McCall (8 October 1899 – 22 March 1965) was a professional association footballer who played as a forward for

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

-based club Queen of the South in Scotland, and Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton in England in the 1920s.

Football career

McCall was born in Maxwelltown, then a separate

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...

from

across the River Nith. While a pupil at Glasgow Street School, he was the captain of the Scottish Schoolboys' team. He served in the Great War with the 5th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, and after the war returned to football, and the Maxwelltown Juniors (known locally as the "Fish Suppers"). Joining Queen of the South in 1919, the year of their formation, he played for Queen's as a forward during his stay at Palmerston. McCall made 24 appearances in season 1919–20 scoring 11 goals and ten appearances in season 1920–21 scoring three goals. McCall was a goalscorer along with left winger, Dave Halliday, for then non-league Queen of the South as they won the Dumfries Charity Cup Final in 1920 defeating

Dalbeattie Star Dalbeattie Star Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway. It currently competes in the . The club had previously played in the South of Scotland Football League. Home matches are played a ...

. This was the first ever trophy win for fledgling Queens. McCall moved from Queen of the South to Blackburn Rovers in December 1920. McCall was one of the three players to make such a move in a short time frame along with Jimmy McKinnell and Tom Wylie. This along with the transfer of Ian Dickson to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

helped fund Queens' purchase of Palmerston Park. McCall made only 11 league appearances for Blackburn before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in June 1922. After six months at Molineux, McCall moved to the south coast to join Southampton in January 1923 in an exchange deal with George Getgood joining Wolves. McCall had a reputation for being quick and scored on his debut at The Dell against Coventry City on 10 February. Although McCall scored again in March, he lost his place to

Len Andrews Leonard Thomas Alford Andrews (9 December 1888 – 21 January 1969) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. During his career he had two spells with both Southampton and Reading, as well as playing for Watford. ...

and soon became disillusioned. He left the club in May 1923 and was transfer listed at £500. It was not until September 1925 that he eventually found a new club, back with Queen of the South, at a reduced fee of £250. McCall finished his professional playing career with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

Later career

He became trainer for a local team in Dumfries, Troqueer Juniors. McCall worked with the Caledonian bus company at their Eastfield Road premises in Dumfries. Aged 68 he died in Dumfries Infirmary. He was survived by his wife, son and married daughter. His son flew into Prestwick Airport for the funeral from Canada where he had been living for 11 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, Willie 1899 births Footballers from Dumfries 1965 deaths Scottish footballers Association football forwards Queen of the South F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players King's Own Scottish Borderers soldiers British Army personnel of World War I