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Personal
Fullname: William McAulay
aka: Willie McAulay, William McAuley, Willie McAuley
Born: 1 Nov 1879
Birthplace: Glasgow
Died: [1935 [TBC] (Aston Villa site says 1950) see notes ]
Signed: 16 Apr 1898
Left: 15 Oct 1898 (free); 21 Oct 1898 (to Sheff Wed)
Position: Inside-forward
Debut: Celtic 2-1 Third Lanark, League, 20 Aug 1898
Internationals: none
Biog
William McAulay played just a single game for Celtic but the centre-forward still managed to get himself on the score-sheet.
Signed from Cambuslang Hibs in April 1898, Willie McAulay’s one league appearance came on 20 August 1898 when his goal helped Celtic defeat Third Lanark 2-1 in a league encounter at Parkhead. A great achievement for the very young player finding his feet in the senior game.
However, he was to be one of several promising reserve players axed by the club in October that year as part of a short-sighted cost cutting drive.
He later went on to play for several English clubs – including Aston Villa and Portsmouth – before returning up north to play for various clubs including Aberdeen, Falkirk and Hibs.
He has the honour of being the first player to ever score a goal for Aberdeen, when he scored against Stenhousemuir on 15 August 1903 before a crowd of 8,000 spectators at Pittodrie. Aberdeen were at this point a newly formed club from a merger of three other local sides.
In 1904 the Aberdeen Evening Gazette commented very highly on Willie McAulay:
“He is, off the field, one of the most modest of men, and on it one of the trickiest players going. It is not too much to say that it is his experience and coaching that has made such a vast improvement on the team’s forward play.”
In 1906, Willie McAulay moved to Falkirk for a year, at which time the Falkirk Herald said of him:
“He is extremely smart with his feet, and his dribbling tactics have astonished not a few opponents. He can shoot with accuracy, and seldom fails to gather a possible pass.”
[..He passed away prematurely in 1935. [TBC see notes]…]
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1898 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Goals: | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
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Notes
- Date of passing away: one Aston Villa site claims 1950, other site claims 1935. Needs checked
Articles
Falkirk Herald 1906
Source: http://www.falkirk-football-history.co.uk/search/label/Falkirk%20FC%20Players
