William Dickson (footballer, born 1866)

William Dickson
Personal information
Full name	William Alexander Dickson[1]
Date of birth	27 August 1866[1]
Place of birth	Crail, Fife, Scotland[1]
Date of death	1 June 1910 (aged 43)[1]
Place of death	Stoke-upon-Trent, England[1]
Playing position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
National team
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

William Alexander Dickson (27 August 1866 – 1 June 1910) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa and Stoke and also the Scotland national team.[1]

Career

Dickson was born in Crail, Fife and played for Dundee club Strathmore before joining English club Sunderland.[1] Sunderland had been unable to gain a place in the inaugural season of the Football League and played friendly matches in the 1888–89 season, Dickson scoring four goals in nine appearances.[2]

In 1889 he joined Football League side Aston Villa and did well for the Birmingham-based club scoring 34 goals in 64 matches and earned a FA Cup runners-up medal in 1892 FA Cup Final .[1] He joined fellow Midlands based club Stoke in time for the 1892–93 season where he scored 11 goals as Stoke enjoyed their best season in the league up to that point.[1] He scored 13 in 1893–94 including five in six in the short lived United Counties League.[1] As well as playing up front Dickson also played at full-back and would often swap positions on a regular basis.[1] He retired from playing football in 1896 after scoring 48 goals in 135 matches for the "Potters".[1]

Post-retirement

After his retirement Dickson remained in the Stoke area where he was engaged in the licensing business.[3] He was mine host of the Prince of Wales Inn on Liverpool Street.[3] Dickson went on to become a director of the club following financial difficulties in 1908 after it was liquidated and in danger of disappearing completely.[3] However, local feeling was roused at the eleventh hour and monies were raised by 12 local businessmen and a new board was formed, of which Dickson was a member.[3]

Dickson was in Dundee in March 1910 for the silver wedding celebrations of his brother-in-law John Robertson.[3] It was observed that he was not looking at all well and he was practically confined to his house after returning to Stoke. He died of Bright's disease on 1 June 1910 and left a widow and six children. Dickson left £2,092 to his widow Jessie when he died.[3]

International career

Dickson won his only Scotland cap while with Strathmore on 24 March 1888 where he scored four times in a 10–2 win over Ireland. Despite this, he was never selected again for his country. He is one of just two players to have scored four goals in their only Scotland appearance, the other being Charles Heggie two years previously.

Career statistics

Club

Source:[4]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Other^[A]		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aston Villa	1889–90	The Football League	20	8	2	1	—		22	9
	1890–91	The Football League	18	10	0	0	—		18	10
	1891–92	The Football League	20	15	4	0	—		24	15
	Total		58	33	6	1	0	0	64	34
Stoke	1892–93	First Division	30	11	1	0	—		31	11
	1893–94	First Division	29	8	2	0	6	5	36	13
	1894–95	First Division	26	13	2	0	1	0	29	13
	1895–96	First Division	30	8	4	3	—		34	11
	1896–97	First Division	4	0	0	0	—		4	0
	Total		119	40	9	3	7	5	135	48
Career Total			177	73	15	4	7	5	199	82

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the 1893–94 United Counties League and the 1894–95 Test Match.

International

Source:[5]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	1888	1	4
Total		1	4

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References

Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
"Billy Dickson". The Stat Cat. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
Strachan, Graeme. "The forgotten Tayside footballer who became a Stoke City hero and saved the club from going out of business". The Dundee Courier. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
William Dickson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
"Dickson, William". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

External links

William Dickson at the Scottish Football Association

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[Matthews-1] Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.

[2] "Billy Dickson". The Stat Cat. Retrieved 2 June 2020.

[Dundee-3] Strachan, Graeme. "The forgotten Tayside footballer who became a Stoke City hero and saved the club from going out of business". The Dundee Courier. Retrieved 2 June 2020.

[4] William Dickson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

[5] "Dickson, William". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[A]