William Sanderson Hume (18 December 1935 – 15 August 1990) was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish Football League for Dunfermline Athletic, St Mirren and Berwick Rangers, in the Football League, for Birmingham City,[2] and in the Irish Football League and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup for Glentoran.[3] He played as a wing half or inside forward.

Billy Hume
Personal information
Full name William Sanderson Hume[1]
Date of birth (1935-12-18)18 December 1935
Place of birth Armadale, Scotland
Date of death 15 August 1990(1990-08-15) (aged 54)
Place of death Livingston, Scotland
Position(s) Wing half / Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Seafield United
195x–1955 Whitburn
1955–1958 Dunfermline Athletic 9 (2)
1958–1960 Birmingham City 10 (2)
1960–1961 St Mirren 8 (3)
1961 Berwick Rangers 5 (1)
1962 Bangor 8 (6)
1962–1964 Glentoran (5)
Alloa Athletic 0 (0)
Armadale Thistle
Bathgate Thistle
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Hume was born in Armadale, West Lothian. He played for nearby Seafield United and Whitburn before joining Dunfermline Athletic in 1955,[4][5] for whom he made his Scottish League debut during the 1956–57 season.[6] He played four Division One games, scoring once, and the next season played five Division Two games, again scoring once, and one game in the Scottish League Cup.[7]

Despite interest from Rangers,[4] Hume then came to England and signed for Birmingham City of the Football League First Division in February 1958, making his first-team debut in a friendly against Valencia.[5] Unable to dislodge Dick Neal from the left-half position, Hume had to wait for his Football League debut until 18 March 1959, deputising for Neal in an away game against Leicester City which Birmingham won 4–2.[8] He played eight league games in the 1959–60 season, succeeding Bunny Larkin at inside left, but scored only twice,[9] and returned to Scotland in 1960.

Hume made a few appearances for St Mirren and for Berwick Rangers[2] before trying his luck in Ireland, first with Bangor and then Glentoran.[4] He scored for Glentoran in a Gold Cup final to earn himself a winners' medal,[4] and represented the club in their first modern foray into European competition, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup of 1962–63. Drawn to play Real Zaragoza, Glentoran lost the first leg 2–0, but took the lead in the away leg as Hume "swept [the ball] inside for Matt Doherty to volley it into the roof of the net", only to lose 6–2.[10][11]

Returning to Scotland once more, Hume was briefly on the books of Alloa Athletic before becoming a player-coach in junior football, firstly for three years at Armadale Thistle and then at Bathgate Thistle.[4]

Hume died in hospital in Livingston, West Lothian, in August 1990 at the age of 54.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Billy Hume". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Billy Hume". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  3. ^ "Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1962–63: Game details". LinguaSport. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Death of district's former sports stars". West Lothian Courier. 24 August 1990. p. 48.
  5. ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  6. ^ "Appearances/Scorers by Season Season 1956/1957". ParsDatabase. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  7. ^ "Appearances/Scorers by Season Season 1957/1958". ParsDatabase. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  8. ^ Matthews, p. 194.
  9. ^ Matthews, p. 195.
  10. ^ "The First Game in Europe". The Pride of East Belfast. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Glentoran – Inter Cities Fairs Cup Record". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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