William Rankin was a Scottish professional football who made over 470 appearances in the Scottish Football League's top division for Motherwell, Cowdenbeath and Clyde, playing at inside right.[4][5][6]
He represented the Scottish Football League XI four times[7] and played in two of the annual Home Scots v Anglo-Scots international trial matches, scoring in one,[8][9] but this did not lead to a full cap for Scotland. In 1921 he was a member of the squad sometimes presented as 'Scotland' which toured North America, but this was organised by the Third Lanark club rather than the Scottish Football Association.[10][11][3]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Motherwell | 1917–18[1] | Scottish Division One | 30 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 11 |
| 1918–19[1] | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 1919–20[1] | 39 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 12 | ||
| 1920–21[1] | 36 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 7 | ||
| 1921–22[1] | 36 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 8 | ||
| 1922–23[1] | 27 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 6 | ||
| 1923–24[1] | 32 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 7 | ||
| Total | 230 | 54 | 19 | 2 | 249 | 56 | ||
| Cowdenbeath | 1924–25[1] | Scottish Division One | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 4 |
| 1925–26[1] | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| 1926–27[1] | 35 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 8 | ||
| 1927–28[1] | 31 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 6 | ||
| 1928–29[1] | 38 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 7 | ||
| Total | 168 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 175 | 25 | ||
| Clyde | 1929–30[1] | Scottish Division One | 35 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 5 |
| 1930–31[1] | 29 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 1931–32[1] | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 79 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 84 | 12 | ||
| Career total | 477 | 85 | 31 | 8 | 508 | 93 | ||
Honours
- Cowdenbeath Hall of Fame[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
- ^ Statutory registers - Births - Search results, ScotlandsPeople
- ^ a b Andy Mitchell (15 March 2013). "Scots on tour in 1921". Scottish Sport History. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Willie Rankin – motherWELLnet". motherWELLnet. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Cowdenbeath FC – Blue Brazil Online | Cowden | The Beath". www.cowdenbeathfc.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "Rankin Willie Image 1 Motherwell 1922 – Vintage Footballers". vintagefootballers.com. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ "Willie Rankin – Scotland Football League Record from 22 Feb 1919 to 31 Oct 1923 clubs – Motherwell". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ Football. | International Trial, The Glasgow Herald, 31 March 1920
- ^ Football | International Trial Match, The Glasgow Herald, 23 March 1921
- ^ Neil Morrison (4 January 2018). "British "FA XI" Tours: 1921 "Third Lanark's Scotland XI" - Canada and USA". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "When Third Lanark were Scotland". Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world, 1863-1937. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020.