William Donnelly (1872–1934)[a] was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Vale of Clyde, Hibernian,[1] Clyde, Celtic,[2] Belfast Celtic and Liverpool during the 1890s and early 1900s.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1872 | ||
| Place of birth | Magherafelt, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 1934 (aged 61–62) | ||
| Place of death | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| St Mungo | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Vale of Clyde | |||
| 1893–1895 | Hibernian | 21 | (0) |
| 1895–1896 | Clyde | 17 | (0) |
| 1896–1898 | Liverpool | 6 | (0) |
| 1898–1900 | Clyde | 20 | (0) |
| 1900–1901 | Celtic | 3 | (0) |
| 1901–1902 | Belfast Celtic | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Born in Magherafelt and raised in Scotland, he played for a number of Scottish teams and gained a reputation as an expert in stopping penalties[4] before signing for Liverpool from Clyde in May 1896.[5] He was the club's second-choice goalkeeper behind Harry Storer during the 1896–97 Football League season and had a run in the side after Storer was injured,[4] becoming the second Irishman to play for Liverpool.[5]
Returning to Clyde in 1898,[5] Donnelly had joined Celtic by the 1900–01 Scottish Football League season and was a back-up option again, this time to Dan McArthur.[6] He left Scotland for Belfast Celtic in mid-1901.[7]
Notes edit
- ^ Some sources give Donnelly's death as August 1948, others as December 1934
References edit
- ^ (Hibernian player) Donnelly, Willie, FitbaStats
- ^ (Celtic player) Donnelly, William, FitbaStats
- ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b "LFC History profile - Willie Donnelly". lfchistory.net.
- ^ a b c Falkiner, Keith (2012). Emerald Anfield. ISBN 9781444743869.
- ^ Craig, Jim; Woods, Pat (2013). Celtic: Pride and Passion. Random House. ISBN 9781780577630.
- ^ "Sign On For Ireland". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 2 July 1901.
W. Donnelly, who kept goal for Glasgow Celtic last season [..] has signed for Belfast Celtic [..] The securing of Donnelly is a good stroke on the part of the Belfast club