Ferguson, William

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Fullname: William Ferguson
aka: Willie Ferguson, Little Tich, ‘The Bag o’ Tricks’
Born: […]
Died: […]
Birthplace: […]
Signed: 16 March 1895
Left: 20 February 1897 (to Burnley)
Position: Outside-Left
Debut: Celtic 4-0 Leith Athletic, League, 16 March 1895 (scored twice)
Internationals: Scottish League XI
International Caps: 1 league cap

Biog

William Ferguson was a tricky outside-left who spent two years at Parkhead after joining Celtic from his local side Maryhill Juniors in March 1895.

Dark-haired and full of tricks the popular Willie Ferguson forged an effective partnership with the great Sandy McMahon. One description of Willie Ferguson was of:

“a little black-headed man of ludicrous appearance, ungainly gait but could play“.

He had an excellent debut match scoring twice v Leith Athletic, who were further harried by the new Celtic player who scored once again against them two weeks later in a 6-5 win. So an incredible start, but it was Leith’s cross town neighbours Hearts who were the happiest that season winning the league title for the first time in their history.

Nicknamed ‘Little Tich‘, he is best known for resuscitating a Celtic side on 16th November 1895 who were 3-1 down to Queen’s Park in the Glasgow Cup final. He took the bull by the horns in the second half as “the star of the front rank, the coolest man of the 25,000 present“. Celtic went on to win 6-3. It was a purple patch for him scoring five goals in six games. He had scored once v Rangers in a 4-2 win in September 1895. This all helped Celtic to regain the league title, and he was very much part of this success.

However, he may have started very well but his progress then petered out after that aforementioned scoring spree, surprising for a player who had shown great ability.

His Parkhead demise would follow the embarrassing cup exit to Arthurlie in a 4-2 defeat on January 1897, a match he scored in.

He played his last game for Celtic a week later in a 2-0 victory over Clyde in the league. in retrospect, it seems harsh as he’d actually been on a run with five goals in a spell of six games. However, the Arthrurlie defeat was compounded by two defeats prior to that match by Rangers with five conceded none scored. So three big defeats in a row meant changes were possibly on the cards.

However, he had actually an excellent run in his last few matches, scoring twice v Clyde in a 4-1 win and once in the disastrous defeat to Arthrulie. He scored four times in his last four matches for Celtic, so sympathisers could argue he was a wrong target to cull. Overall, season 1896/97 had become a disaster for Celtic, relinquishing the league title by finishing the standings in fourth, albeit only 4pts behind the title victors (2 pts for a win in those days) in what was a very tight race for the title at the end.

Willie Ferguson eventually moved on to Burnley in February 1897 after 28 appearances and 12 goals for the Bhoys.

He once told a friend “When you leave Parkhead, you leave home“, another note states it as “Leaving Celtic is like leaving home“.

He was suspended at Burnley in Oct 1899 for “failing to observe training instructions“.

He later was in training at Cromarty Camp in May 1916, preparing to go to France with his battalion for the war effort.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

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Articles

Willie Ferguson transferred to Burnley

https://playupliverpool.com/1897/03/02/willie-ferguson-transferred-to-burnley/
March 2, 1897
The Burnley committee have secured Willie Ferguson, of the Celtic, who plays either outside or inside left. A wire was received yesterday from Mr. Harry Bradshaw to the effect that Ferguson would be in Burnley last evening.
(Burnley Express: March 3, 1897)

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