William Waddell (7 March 1921 – 14 October 1992) was a professional football player and manager. His only club in a 16-year career as a player in the
outside right
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 ...
position (interrupted by World War II) was Rangers which yielded six major winner's medals, and he also played 18 times for
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 ...
.
Waddell also managed Rangers – leading them to their only continental trophy in the
1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match between Scottish team Rangers and Soviet team Dynamo Moscow. It took place at the Camp Nou in Barcelona on 24 May 1972 in front of a crowd of 35,000. It was the final of the 1971–7 ...
– and served as a director of the
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 ...
club, after a spell in charge of Kilmarnock which culminated in their only Scottish league title in 1964–65, followed by some years working as a sports journalist.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(and including over 200 unofficial matches during the conflict in addition to 317 recognised appearances).
He made his debut at the age of 17 in a
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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
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 ...
(scoring six times) between 1946 and 1954 after playing in eight unofficial wartime matches, and was selected 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 ...
five times.
Managerial career
Waddell became manager of Kilmarnock in 1957. In what was their most prosperous era, the club achieved four runners-up placings in the league under his guidance between 1960 and 1964 and reached three finals ( 1959–60 Scottish Cup, 1961 League Cup, 1963 League Cup), all of which were lost.
Kilmarnock's efforts were finally rewarded with a trophy when the club won their only league championship to date, in 1964–65; this was achieved with a final day victory against their nearest rivals Heart of Midlothian. On leaving Kilmarnock in 1965 Waddell traded the football world for journalism, becoming a sportswriter for the ''
Evening Citizen
The ''Evening Citizen'', was an evening version of '' The Glasgow Citizen'' (a daily newspaper founded in 1842 by James David Hedderwick). It was first published in August 1864, was one of the first of three evening newspapers to be printed, pub ...
'' and ''
Scottish Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
''. He took charge of Kilmarnock in 389 competitive matches, winning 215 (55%), the club's best-ever ratio for a manager.
From the mid-1960s Scottish football was dominated by the Celtic side managed by
Jock Stein
John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...
. In 1969 Waddell returned to Rangers as manager, following the sacking of Davie White. The team did not win any League Championships with Waddell as manager, but won the
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
in 1971, ending a run of six years without a trophy. In
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
Waddell led Rangers to a
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
win, beating
Dynamo Moscow
MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
3–2 in
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
in Barcelona. Later in 1972 he handed the management reins to his assistant, Jock Wallace, Jr. having been Rangers boss for 134 games.
Later career
Waddell went on to serve Rangers in
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
and
vice chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
roles. During Waddell's time as manager, Rangers had suffered the
1971 Ibrox disaster
The 1971 Ibrox disaster was a crush among the crowd at an Old Firm football game, which led to 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries. It happened on 2 January 1971 in an exit stairway at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland. It ...
, when 66 fans lost their lives. Waddell was credited with the reconstruction of
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox, Glasgow, Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers F.C., Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest List of foot ...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which made it one of the most modern grounds in Europe at the time of his death. He became general manager in 1972, after leaving his role as first-team manager, and latterly took up the role of vice chairman in September 1975. After four years he resigned his position, to be replaced by Lawrence Marlborough, and took up the role of consultant at the club. However, he left this role on 27 June 1981, after Rangers decided not to renew his £15,000-a-year (equivalent to £52,000 in 2015) contract but remained a director of the club until his death.
Career statistics
International appearances
International goals
''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.''
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...