William McStay (21 June 1892 – 3 September 1960) was a Scottish international

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 a fullback.

Club career

McStay began his senior career when he joined Celtic from

Larkhall Thistle Larkhall Thistle Football Club is a football club from Larkhall, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Formed in 1878, "the Jags" are Scotland's oldest continuous Junior football club and currently compete in the . The team plays in red and white str ...

in 1912, although he was immediately loaned to

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

, spending the following four seasons with the

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Ayr United since they were founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr Parkhouse to form Ayr United. H ...

club. Having helped Celtic to the Scottish Football League title in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

, He had further spells away from

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

during the latter years of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, assisting local sides Distillery and Belfast Celtic while conscripted to the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was o ...

unit, before re-establishing himself in the Celtic first team which won the title again

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

and

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

. McStay was suspended by Celtic following a wages dispute in the aftermath of their

1923 Scottish Cup Final The 1922–23 Scottish Cup was the 45th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Celtic, who defeated Hibernian 1–0 in the final. Fourth round Semi-finals ---- Final References See a ...

victory, and he spent the summer in the United States; he played one game with New York Field Club in the American Soccer League. He was appointed captain of Celtic upon his return to the club later that year, taking over from

William Cringan William Cringan (21 April 1890 – 12 May 1958) was a Scottish footballer who played for Sunderland, Ayr United, Celtic, Third Lanark and Motherwell, and for the Scotland national team. Career Club Cringan, a centre half, started his senior c ...

, and held the role for six years. During this time he won one further League Championship (in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

) and two more

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hearts for £250, and retired from playing in 1930. He was later manager of

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

for a period in the mid-1930s.

International career

McStay earned his first selection for the Scottish national side in 1921. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...

and also played in the match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

two weeks later. He was not selected again until 1925 but would eventually win a total of 13

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for his country. McStay also appeared 10 times for the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

Personal life

McStay was succeeded as Celtic captain by his younger brother Jimmy in 1929, and they played 264 competitive matches together in the team's defensive line, as well as one Scottish League XI match in 1926. Their older brother Francis played for Motherwell in the 1910s. In addition to his siblings, McStay has several family footballing connections: his great-nephews

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and

Willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and sc ...

also played for Celtic in the 1980s and 1990s (Paul also captaining the club and gaining 76 caps for Scotland), their younger brother

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

also played professionally, their father John was a scout for the club and their cousin Jock McStay was also a professional in the same era.

Honours

Player

CelticCeltic player William McStay
FitbaStats *

Scottish 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 sout ...

: 1916–17, 1918–19, 1921–22, 1925–26 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1922–23, 1924–25, 1926–27 *

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rul ...

: 1919–20, 1920–21, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29 Belfast Celtic *

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

: 1917–18Two Celtics and a 100 Year Record
Belfast Celtic Society

Manager

Glentoran *

: 1932–33

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcstay, Willie 1892 births 1960 deaths Footballers from South Lanarkshire Scottish footballers Association football defenders Ayr United F.C. players Belfast Celtic F.C. wartime guest players Lisburn Distillery F.C. wartime guest players Larkhall Thistle F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Celtic F.C. players Scottish Football League players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Glentoran F.C. managers Coleraine F.C. managers NIFL Premiership managers Scottish football managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players New York Field Club players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Scottish expatriate footballers American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Scotland international footballers Scottish Football League representative players