Will Gibson

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William Gibson
Personal information
Full name William Gibson[1]
Date of birth 16 February 1868
Place of birth Loudoun, Scotland[1]
Date of death 15 September 1911(1911-09-15) (aged 43)[1][2]
Place of death Lincoln, England
Position(s) Full back
Left half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1886–1887 Flemington Thistle
1887–1888 Cambuslang
1888–1894 Sunderland 75 (5)
1894–1895 Rangers 17 (1)
1895–1896 Sunderland 16 (1)
1896–1897 Notts County 41 (0)
1897–1898 Bristol City
1898–1903 Lincoln City 130 (1)
Total 279 (8)
International career
1895 Scottish League XI 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Gibson (16 February 1868 – 15 September 1911) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Lincoln City, Notts County and Sunderland, and in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, as a left back or left half.

Club career[edit]

Born into a coal mining family in Ayrshire, Gibson spent most of his early life in Wishaw. Having avoided more time down the pit when he signed for Sunderland from Cambuslang, he made his competitive debut for the Wearsiders on 27 October 1888 against Elswick Rangers in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round; his side won the match 5–3.[3] He went on to make 100 league and cup appearances for Sunderland across two spells, scoring six goals, and played an important role in their consecutive Football League title winning seasons, with 20 appearances in 1891–92 and 30 in 1892–93.[4]

During his one-year spell in Glasgow with Rangers,[5] Gibson was selected for the Scottish Football League XI,[6] believed to be his only representative honour. After a short second spell at Sunderland, he later won the Football League Second Division with Notts County in 1896–97 (promotion was secured via 'test matches' including a victory against Sunderland).[7]

His younger sister Marion married Jimmy Miller, one of Sunderland's star forwards of the period (both also played for Rangers, but not at the same time).[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Will Gibson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ^ William Gibson, Find A Grave. Retrieved 19 February 2022
  3. ^ "Sunderland 5-3 Elswick Rangers". The Stat Cat. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Will Gibson". The Stat Cat. Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  5. ^ (Rangers player) Gibson, William, FitbaStats [record contains one minor match involving several reserve players in 1904. Reports from the time make no mention of a well-known older player returning, as would be expected in the circumstances – likely to be a different player of the same name]
  6. ^ "[SFL player] Will Gibson". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ Mitchell, Andy (2021). The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939. Amazon. ISBN 9798513846642.
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