Willie Hunter (footballer)

William Hunter (14 February 1940 – 4 August 2020) was a Scottish football player and manager. Hunter spent most of his playing career with Motherwell, although he also played for Detroit Cougars, Hibernian, Hellenic and Cape Town City. Hunter also represented both Scotland and the Scottish League. After retiring as a player, Hunter was manager at Queen of the South and Inverness Caledonian.

Willie Hunter
Personal information
Full name William Hunter
Date of birth (1940-02-14)14 February 1940
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death 4 August 2020(2020-08-04) (aged 80)
Playing position(s) Inside forward
Youth career
Edinburgh Norton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1967 Motherwell 228 (43)
1967–1968 Detroit Cougars 23 (4)
1967 → Glentoran (loan) 0 (0)
1968–1971 Hibernian 12 (1)
1971 Hellenic 21 (2)
1972–1975 Cape Town City
National team
1958–1960[1] Scottish League XI 4 (0)
1959–1962[2] Scotland U23 4 (1)
1960 Scotland 3 (1)
1960[3] SFA trial v SFL 1 (0)
1961[3] SFL trial v SFA 1 (0)
Teams managed
1978–1979 Queen of the South
1979–1981 Inverness Caledonian
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Hunter joined Motherwell from Edinburgh Norton in 1957 with Motherwell then managed by Bobby Ancell. Hunter became part of the side that became known as the 'Ancell Babes'.[4][5] Although usually played as an inside left, he also played occasionally as a winger, and was compared favourably to Gordon Smith for his performance in that role.[6] His progression stalled after he suffered two broken arms and a broken leg within the space of a few years.[4]

In May 1967, the Detroit Cougars paid £14,000 for his transfer and Hunter moved to the new American professional league, the NASL.[6] His new side survived for only one year however and at the end of the 1968 NASL season, he returned to Scotland to join Hibernian. Hunter was a substitute as his new team lost the 1968–69 Scottish League Cup Final to Celtic, and he played for the Edinburgh team until 1971.

International career

Hunter earned three caps for the Scotland national team while with Motherwell, all in 1960. He scored his only Scotland goal in his first cap in a 3–3 draw with Hungary. He also played in defeats to Turkey and Wales.

Managerial career

After four years playing in South Africa, Hunter became assistant manager of Portsmouth, a role he held for three years.[6] Hunter worked for his former Motherwell team-mate Ian St. John at Portsmouth.

He earned the opportunity to manage in his own right at Queen of the South in 1978, working with players such as Allan Ball, Iain McChesney, Nobby Clark, Crawford Boyd and Jocky Dempster. Hunter left the Dumfries club after only four months. His last involvement in football was as Inverness Caledonian's manager from 1979 to 1981.

Hunter died in August 2020, aged 80.[7]

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References
  1. SFA player William Hunter, London Hearts Supporters Club
  2. Scotland U23 player Hunter, Willie, FitbaStats
  3. Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785312458.
  4. Willie Hunter, MotherWELLnet
  5. Ancell's Babes: Steelmen, Sinners and the Saint, The Football Pink, 12 February 2019
  6. Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872-1986 (Hardback). Hutton Press. (ISBN 0-907033-47-4).
  7. "Former Portsmouth assistant manager Willie Hunter dies aged 80". Portsmouth News. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
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