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Personal
Fullname: William Ribchester
aka: Bill Ribchester
Born: 28 July 1898
Died: 23 February 1986
Birthplace: Govan
Signed: 11 Nov 1916; 5 Apr 1919
Left: 1917 (Army); 16 Aug 1919 (to Albion Rovers)
Position: Outside Right
Debut: Queen’s Park 1-3 Celtic, League, 11 Nov 1916
Internationals: none
Biog
The two game Celtic career of William Ribchester was interrupted by the horrors of the First World War.
An outside-right Bill Ribchester was signed by the Bhoys in November 1916 as an 18-year-old, and was stated to be the youngest player in the top division. He had come through the ranks at St Mungo’s Academy, Townhead Benburb Juveniles and Parkhead Juniors.
Reportedly he was “light, fast and fearless“, “Slim of build but clever and speedy. A real topper at corner kicks and able to get the goal an odd time. A toff on and off the field.”
He made his debut in a 3-1 league win at Queen’s Park on 11th November 1916 place of the injured Andy McAtee. The Glasgow Herald report on the match wrote positively on him:
“The Celtic introduced a new player to First League football, and Ribchester showed much of that skill which characterised his displays in school football, and also an amount of pluck one would expect from a member of O.T.C..”
The former Parkhead Juniors man played again a week later v Partick Thistle in a 0-0 draw before Andy McAtee regained his position the following week. Celtic were well behind in the league title race at this point, and The Herald newspaper report for the Partick Thistle noted ominously for Bill Ribchester that:
“[with Celtic] lacking McAtee and McMenemy, the Celtic attack possessed neither motive nor brain power, and the Thistle defenders were asked to stall off a very moderate set of forwards, which they did. “
As Celtic then began on a long winning streak, it was no easy place for any young player to push their way into the starting XI, however he still managed to play a small part in a league title winning side with Celtic.
By early 1917 Bill Ribchester was drafted into the army (whereupon he became a Lieutenant by 1918) and on his return to civilian life in 1919 he was allowed to leave Celtic for Albion Rovers after failing to make any impact at Parkhead.
In the War Years he served with the OTC Machine Gun Corps in 1917, and was promoted to Lieutenant but wounded in action in 1918. Apparently, his game improved tremendously in the forces “and he scarcely plays for the regiment without scoring… he is hoping to don the green stripes once more“.
He went on to be a member of Albion Rovers’ 1920 Scottish Cup team which arguably enjoyed the club’s finest hour, when, having firstly beaten Rangers in a replay 2-0 at Celtic Park, they reached the club’s only ever Scottish Cup Final, only to lose 3-2 to Kilmarnock on 17th April 1920 in front of 95,000 spectators, at the time a record attendance for a club match in Scotland.
He later played for St Johnstone (helping them to the Scottish Division Two title), Dunfermline Athletic, Armadale and St Mirren.
Bill Ribchester was later to become a school teacher like his father, a Lancastrian schoolmaster who had relocated to Govan.
He passed away after a long life in 1986.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1916-19 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | 2 |
| Goals: | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours below are only for those campaigns in which the player has played in at least one match in the campaign)
Pictures
Links
A Game from the Past…and a Moment to Remember
Sponsored by the Jim Craig CS
-https://football50.co.uk/29th-january-1966-hearts-v-celtic-part-two/
A Game from the Past……..After coming through the ranks at St Mungo’s Academy, Townhead Benburb Juveniles and Parkhead Juniors, outside-right William Ribchester joined Celtic in the autumn of 1916, making his first-team debut in the 3-1 win at Hampden over Queen’s Park on 11th November 1916.
And a Moment to Remember…..Bill’s only other appearance for the club came the following week, when he was again deputizing for Andy McAtee, against Partick Thistle at Parkhead, the match ending in a 0-0 draw.
Bill Ribchester joined the Army in 1917 and was a lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps by 1918. At the end of the war, he returned to Scotland for spells with Albion Rovers, St Johnstone, Armadale and St Mirren.