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Willie Gibson


Argyle

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Looking through an old local newspaper I saw that in August 1950 Willie Gibson was making his first appearance in the South of Scotland League , the article mentioned he was a former Irish Internationalist. Can anyone tell me who he previously played for prior to going to South football and was it Northern or Republic of Ireland . Thank You

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On 20/10/2018 at 12:12, Argyle said:

Looking through an old local newspaper I saw that in August 1950 Willie Gibson was making his first appearance in the South of Scotland League , the article mentioned he was a former Irish Internationalist. Can anyone tell me who he previously played for prior to going to South football and was it Northern or Republic of Ireland . Thank You

Willie Gibson was a Scot but played for the Irish League  hence the "former Irish Internationalist" reference you found. He started off playing South of Scotland League football with Stranraer and Tarff Rovers. He had trials at Third Lanark but signed for Bangor in the Irish League for the 1947/48 season. By the 1949/50 season he had established himself as one of the best inside forwards in the Irish League and was selected to play for the Irish League against the Scottish League at Ibrox Park on 7 September 1949.  In the middle of the 1949/50 season Willie left Northern Ireland to take up a business appointment back home in Scotland. In January 1950 Newton Stewart tried to sign him from Bangor but were not successful. His registration at Bangor had not been cancelled. Bangor put him on their retained list at the end of that season. Willie applied to the Irish League Rules Revision Committee to have his name removed to make him free to join a Scottish club but the committee upheld the decision. However, from what you have found it sounds as if these problems were soon resolved. It also looks as if he was still keen to play League football. In December 1950 he was given a trial by Hartlepools United. I think he is the same Willie Gibson who signed for Stranraer on 16 July 1955 before being released on 30 April 1957 having played 56 league games (2 goals).

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On ‎22‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 09:44, bluedragon said:

Willie Gibson was a Scot but played for the Irish League  hence the "former Irish Internationalist" reference you found. He started off playing South of Scotland League football with Stranraer and Tarff Rovers. He had trials at Third Lanark but signed for Bangor in the Irish League for the 1947/48 season. By the 1949/50 season he had established himself as one of the best inside forwards in the Irish League and was selected to play for the Irish League against the Scottish League at Ibrox Park on 7 September 1949.  In the middle of the 1949/50 season Willie left Northern Ireland to take up a business appointment back home in Scotland. In January 1950 Newton Stewart tried to sign him from Bangor but were not successful. His registration at Bangor had not been cancelled. Bangor put him on their retained list at the end of that season. Willie applied to the Irish League Rules Revision Committee to have his name removed to make him free to join a Scottish club but the committee upheld the decision. However, from what you have found it sounds as if these problems were soon resolved. It also looks as if he was still keen to play League football. In December 1950 he was given a trial by Hartlepools United. I think he is the same Willie Gibson who signed for Stranraer on 16 July 1955 before being released on 30 April 1957 having played 56 league games (2 goals).

Thanks very much , bluedragon  a very informative reply to my question , much appreciated.

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On ‎22‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 09:44, bluedragon said:

Willie Gibson was a Scot but played for the Irish League  hence the "former Irish Internationalist" reference you found. He started off playing South of Scotland League football with Stranraer and Tarff Rovers. He had trials at Third Lanark but signed for Bangor in the Irish League for the 1947/48 season. By the 1949/50 season he had established himself as one of the best inside forwards in the Irish League and was selected to play for the Irish League against the Scottish League at Ibrox Park on 7 September 1949.  In the middle of the 1949/50 season Willie left Northern Ireland to take up a business appointment back home in Scotland. In January 1950 Newton Stewart tried to sign him from Bangor but were not successful. His registration at Bangor had not been cancelled. Bangor put him on their retained list at the end of that season. Willie applied to the Irish League Rules Revision Committee to have his name removed to make him free to join a Scottish club but the committee upheld the decision. However, from what you have found it sounds as if these problems were soon resolved. It also looks as if he was still keen to play League football. In December 1950 he was given a trial by Hartlepools United. I think he is the same Willie Gibson who signed for Stranraer on 16 July 1955 before being released on 30 April 1957 having played 56 league games (2 goals).

TOPFITTER may be of interest

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's great to hear that Willie is still with us.
I am currently researching Bangor F.C's history for their centenary year.
In October 1949 the Bangor team flew to Glasgow to play Third Lanark in a friendly at Cathkin Park. Willie scored twice for Bangor in this match (a 3-2 defeat).
Can anyone identify Willie in this photo?
image.thumb.png.44733db181ca4bdbfada812393bbae36.png

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