Willie Wallace

Last updated

Willie Wallace
Willie Wallace 1971.jpg
Willie Wallace (1971)
Personal information
Full name William Semple Brown Wallace [1]
Date of birth (1940-06-23) 23 June 1940 (age 83)
Place of birth Kirkintilloch, Scotland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Inside forward
Youth career
Kelvinside Athletic [2]
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Kilsyth Rangers
1958–1959 Stenhousemuir 50 (23)
1959–1961 Raith Rovers 56 (23)
1961–1966 Heart of Midlothian 173 (91)
1966–1971 Celtic 142 (89)
1971–1972 Crystal Palace 39 (4)
1972–1975 Dumbarton 84 (21)
1975–1976 APIA Leichhardt
1977 Partick Thistle 0 (0)
1977 Ross County 3 (0)
Total547(251)
International career
1964–1969 Scotland 7 (0)
1965–1969 Scottish League XI 4 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Semple Brown Wallace (born 23 June 1940) is a Scottish former football player and coach. He won the European Cup with Celtic in 1967 along with several domestic honours. His other clubs included Stenhousemuir, Raith Rovers, Heart of Midlothian and Dumbarton in the Scottish leagues, and Crystal Palace in English football.

Contents

Wallace played for Scotland seven times and was inducted into the national Hall of Fame in 2017 for his club achievements.

Club career

Early career

He started his senior playing career with Stenhousemuir as a teenager in 1958 (having played alongside Jim Storrie at Kilsyth Rangers), [2] moving to Raith Rovers a year later. It was in Kirkcaldy that "Wispy", as Wallace was nicknamed, developed his reputation as a top-class goal poacher, his skills being rewarded with a first Scottish League cap.

Hearts

Wallace's form attracted attention from larger clubs, Heart of Midlothian eventually spending £15,000 to take him to Edinburgh in April 1961. The increased pressure for success at Tynecastle initially curtailed his scoring exploits, for he was expected to replace no less a figure than Alex Young, the "Golden Vision", whom Hearts had sold to Everton a couple of months earlier. By season 1962–63, however, Wallace was fully settled into the tactics of manager Tommy Walker, and he would become Hearts' top scorer for the next four seasons through to 1965–66. In doing so, he helped Hearts win the Scottish League Cup in 1962 and come within a goal of winning the 1964–65 Scottish Football League title, while gaining full international recognition for Scotland.

In 1966, however, his form plummeted and his goalscoring ceased and, amid rumours that he had been "tapped" up by another club, his departure from Tynecastle was widely anticipated. The surprise was that his destination wasn't boyhood favourites Rangers but their nemesis Celtic, for whom Jock Stein paid £30,000 to secure his services. He played a total of 248 matches for Hearts in all competitions, scoring 131 goals. [3]

Celtic

Within six months of joining Celtic, Wallace was to attain Scottish footballing immortality, as one of the "Lisbon Lions", the famous team who won the European Cup in 1967. He was later part of the team that reached the 1970 European Cup Final but was defeated 2–1 by Feyenoord. He also won the league championship in each of the four seasons he was at the Glasgow club, plus the Scottish Cup in 1967, 1969 and 1971 and the League Cup in 1968 and 1968 during an era widely considered the greatest in the club's history. In total, he scored 140 goals for Celtic in 239 games. [4]

Later career

After five fruitful years with Celtic, Wallace and team-mate John Hughes were sold to Crystal Palace in October 1971 for a combined fee of £30,000. Neither enjoyed great success in South London and Wallace was back in Scotland with Dumbarton less than a year later. As his career wound down, he moved to Australia in March 1975 to play for APIA, where he won two league titles before returning to Scotland in March 1977, first to Partick Thistle for a week, before becoming player-coach at Ross County for the rest of the 1976–77 season.

International career

In total, Wallace was capped seven times for Scotland and four times for the Scottish Football League XI. [5] He was part of the Scotland team that defeated England at Wembley in 1967.

Career after retirement

Retiring as a player in June 1977, he joined the coaching staff at Dundee. When this role ended he returned to APIA as a coach, eventually settling in Sydney and starting his own sports shop.

In 2008, Tommy Burns, a former Celtic player and manager, died; Wallace helped organise a tribute match played on 31 May 2009 at Celtic Park, attended by over 35,000 people. The Celtic squad of the time defeated the 'Tommy Burns Select' team 11–4. In July of the same year, Wallace arranged a friendly match in Australia (where he had lived for the past 30 years) between Celtic and the local professional club Brisbane Roar; Celtic won 3–0.

Career statistics

International appearances

As of 4 March 2019 [6]
International statistics
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland 196410
1965—
196620
196730
1968—
196910
Total70

Honours

Hearts of Midlothian [7]

Celtic [7]

APIA Leichhardt [7]

Scotland

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart of Midlothian F.C.</span> Association football club in Edinburgh, Scotland

Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the Scottish capital, was formed in 1874, its name influenced by Walter Scott's novel The Heart of Midlothian. The club crest is based on the Heart of Midlothian mosaic on the city's Royal Mile; the team's colours are maroon and white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilsyth Rangers F.C.</span> Association football club in Scotland

Kilsyth Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire. Nicknamed The Wee Gers, they were formed in 1913 and play at Duncansfield Park, which used to be one of the bigger non-league football grounds in Scotland. They wear blue tops and shorts, the away strip being red tops, black shorts and black socks, and currently compete in the West of Scotland League Second Division.

William Esplin Ormond was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s and early 1950s. After a successful spell managing St Johnstone he led Scotland to the 1974 World Cup finals. Scotland were unbeaten at that World Cup, but were eliminated on goal difference.

Alexander MacDonald is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. MacDonald played for St Johnstone, Rangers and Hearts. He also played in one full international match for Scotland, in 1976. Towards the end of his playing career, MacDonald became player/manager of Hearts. He led the team as they won promotion in 1983, then narrowly missed out on winning the Scottish league championship in 1986. MacDonald then managed Airdrieonians for most of the 1990s, leading the team to Scottish Cup finals in 1992 and 1995.

Robert White Murdoch was a Scottish professional footballer, who played as a midfielder for Celtic, Middlesbrough and Scotland. Murdoch was one of the Lisbon Lions, the Celtic team who won the European Cup in 1967. He later also managed Middlesbrough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Gemmell</span> Scottish footballer and manager

Thomas Gemmell was a Scottish football player and manager. Although right-footed, he excelled as a left-sided fullback and had powerful shooting ability. Gemmell is best known as one of the Celtic side who won the 1966–67 European Cup; he scored the first Celtic goal in the final. Gemmell played 18 times for Scotland, and also played for Nottingham Forest, Miami Toros and Dundee. After retiring as a player in 1977, Gemmell managed Dundee and Albion Rovers.

Scott Crabbe is a Scottish retired footballer. he played for several Scottish clubs, including Heart of Midlothian, Dundee United and Falkirk. He represented the Scotland under-21 team and was named SPFA Young Player of the Year in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christophe Berra</span> Scottish footballer

Christophe Didier Berra is a Scottish professional football former player and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Walker (footballer, born 1915)</span> Scottish footballer

Thomas Walker OBE was a Scottish footballer, who played for Heart of Midlothian, Chelsea and the Scotland national team. He later managed Hearts and Raith Rovers before becoming a director of Hearts in his later years. Lauded for his Corinthian spirit and gentlemanly conduct, he is remembered as one of Hearts all-time greats. Walker has been described as the most influential man ever to be associated with Heart of Midlothian.

William Duff was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Frank Sharp is a Scottish former footballer who scored 13 goals in 231 league games in a ten-year career in the Football League and Scottish Football League. A winger, he played for Heart of Midlothian, Carlisle United, Cardiff City, Barnsley, Grimsby Town, Port Vale, and Northwich Victoria.

The 2009–10 Scottish League Cup was the 64th season of the Scotland's second most prestigious football knockout competition, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-operative Insurance Cup. Rangers won the cup beating St Mirren 1–0 thanks to a goal from Kenny Miller.

Maurice Elliott was a Scottish professional footballer who was a forward. Elliott was born in Dumfries and played for his home town club Queen of the South and went on to play for Heart of Midlothian, Montrose and Stenhousemuir.

Robert Kirk was a Scottish footballer best known for winning five senior trophies with Heart of Midlothian in the late 1950s and early 60s. He also played for Dunfermline Athletic and Raith Rovers.

William Polland was a Scottish footballer who played for Raith Rovers and Heart of Midlothian. Polland, a defender, began his career with Raith Rovers in 1955, and played about 200 games for the Kirkcaldy club before he was signed by Hearts in April 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Walker (footballer)</span> Scottish footballer

Jamie Walker is a Scottish footballer who plays for Bradford City as an attacking midfielder or winger. He has previously played for Hearts, Raith Rovers and Wigan Athletic and represented Scotland at every youth international level.

The 2014–15 season was the 118th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian and the first under new ownership following the club's exit from administration on 11 June 2014. Following 31 consecutive seasons in the top level of Scottish football, this was the club's first season of play in the second tier of Scottish football since the 1982–83 season, having been relegated from the Scottish Premiership to the Scottish Championship at the end of the previous season. Hearts also competed in the Challenge Cup, League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Season 1975–76 was the 92nd football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 70th time, the Scottish Cup for the 81st time and the Scottish League Cup for the 29th time.

Season 1976–77 was the 93rd football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 71st time, the Scottish Cup for the 82nd time and the Scottish League Cup for the 30th time.

The 2016–17 season is the 120th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian F.C. with the team participating in the Scottish Premiership.

References

  1. ↑ "Willie Wallace". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 Storrie: James (Jim), Leeds United F.C. History
  3. ↑ "[Hearts player] Willie Wallace". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "[Celtic player] Wallace, Willie". FitbaStats. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "[SFL player] Willie Wallace". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Willie Wallace at the Scottish Football Association
  7. 1 2 3 "INDUCTED IN 2017 - Wallace, Willie". Scottish Football Museum. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "A Squad - Wallace, Willie". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
Sources
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.