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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Topic started by: wildgoose on Saturday 06 September 14 19:41 BST (UK)

Title: Scottish football
Post by: wildgoose on Saturday 06 September 14 19:41 BST (UK)
My wife's late grandpa William WALLACE b.1910 Cowdenbeath use to claim he once played football for Scotland against Ireland.  He was the goalkeeper.  Could anyone help me prove, hopefully. this family tale.
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: RJ_Paton on Saturday 06 September 14 21:14 BST (UK)
You could try the Scottish Football Museum at
http://www.scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk/quicklinks/contact-us.html

There was a Willie Wallace but he was much younger and didn't start playing until the 1950's
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: scotmum on Friday 12 September 14 18:31 BST (UK)
May be nothing, but there was a William Wallace who was goalkeeper for Port Glasgow Junior FC in or around 1925. Likewise, Clydebank had a goalkeeper of the name c 1922, but he wouldn't fit with a c1910 birth and indeed may be same chap as the 1925 one.

Did her grandfather ever move from Fife area?
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: wildgoose on Friday 12 September 14 18:43 BST (UK)
No he didn't.  He stayed in the Kingdom.  Is it possible that it was a Junior cap ??? 
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: scotmum on Friday 12 September 14 18:45 BST (UK)
There was a Willie Wallace, goalkeeper at Raith Rovers in c1915 (then joined army). Could she have mixed up the generations and it be a William earlier than the 1910 one she has heard family stories about instead?
Title: Scottish football
Post by: wildgoose on Friday 12 September 14 18:50 BST (UK)
No it we definitely him.  He was born in Lochgelly in 1910.  Perhaps he actually played for a local Fife team  and the story got larger in the telling?
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: scotmum on Friday 12 September 14 19:02 BST (UK)
Many stories can become 'larger' over the years  ;D.

What was his occupation and was he ever in the army. Just as examples, I'm thinking if, say, he were a miner in Lochgelly, there may have been local teams made up of 'Scottish' miners and Irish' miners or similarly, if he were in the army at all, and they may have had 'Scotland v Ireland' friendlies amongst themselves.
Title: Scottish football
Post by: wildgoose on Friday 12 September 14 19:05 BST (UK)
He was a coal miner.
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: Skoosh on Friday 12 September 14 21:28 BST (UK)
Cowdenbeath "The Blue Brazil", try Google.

Skoosh.
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: sancti on Monday 15 September 14 00:35 BST (UK)
He doesn't appear on the list of full internationalists so it might have been at junior level

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scotland_international_footballers_(1%E2%80%934_caps)
Title: Re: Scottish football
Post by: meadowbank on Friday 24 October 14 13:30 BST (UK)
He is probably William Wallace of junior club Lochgelly Albert in the 1930s, who played a couple of games as a trialist outside left for Raith Rovers early in 1935.  Those were his only senior appearances.

I can't find any record of an international appearance at any level, sorry!