| Bill Paterson | |
| Fullname: | William Paterson |
| Birth Date: | 5 March 1897 |
| Birth Place: | Hill of Beath, Scotland |
| Death Place: | Cowdenbeath, Scotland |
| Height: | [1] |
| Position: | Centre forward |
| Clubs1: | Foulford White Rose |
| Clubs2: | Cowdenbeath Wednesday |
| Years3: | 1914–1920 |
| Clubs3: | Cowdenbeath |
| Caps3: | 27 |
| Goals3: | 31 |
| Years4: | 1916–1917 |
| Clubs4: | → Rangers (loan) |
| Caps4: | 5 |
| Goals4: | 3 |
| Years6: | 1921–1924 |
| Clubs6: | Derby County |
| Caps6: | 66 |
| Goals6: | 24 |
| Years7: | 1924–1925 |
| Clubs7: | Cowdenbeath |
| Caps7: | 9 |
| Goals7: | 2 |
| Years8: | 1925 |
| Clubs8: | → Armadale (loan) |
| Years9: | 1925–1926 |
| Clubs9: | Coventry City |
| Caps9: | 40 |
| Goals9: | 25 |
| Years10: | 1926 |
| Clubs10: | Springfield Babes |
| Caps10: | 13 |
| Goals10: | 7 |
| Managerclubs1: | Providence Gold Bugs (player-manager) |
| Managerclubs2: | Cowdenbeath (caretaker) |
| Years11: | 1926–1927 |
| Clubs11: | Fall River F.C. |
| Caps11: | 20 |
| Goals11: | 15 |
| Years12: | 1927–1928 |
| Clubs12: | New Bedford Whalers |
| Caps12: | 48 |
| Goals12: | 28 |
| Years13: | 1928–1930 |
| Clubs13: | Providence F.C. |
| Caps13: | 65 |
| Goals13: | 65 |
| Years14: | 1930 |
| Clubs14: | New Bedford Whalers |
| Caps14: | 20 |
| Goals14: | 21 |
| Years15: | 1930 |
| Clubs15: | Brooklyn Wanderers |
| Caps15: | 13 |
| Goals15: | 5 |
| Years16: | 1931 |
| Clubs16: | Fall River |
| Caps16: | 17 |
| Goals16: | 11 |
| Clubs17: | New York Nationals |
William Paterson (5 March 1897 – 31 July 1970) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a centre forward. He began his career in Scotland in the 1910s and switched to English football twice. In 1926, he joined the American Soccer League where he led the league in scoring in the fall 1929 season.[2]
Known as either Bill or Willie, Paterson spent time with Cowdenbeath and Rangers in Scotland before moving to Derby County of The Football League in 1921.[3] [4] [5] He spent two seasons with Derby, where he was relegated from the First Division in 1921, before rejoining Cowdenbeath.[6] He also spent time with Armadale. He then played with Coventry City during the 1925–26 season.
In the fall of 1926, he moved to the United States where he signed with the Springfield Babes of the American Soccer League. Paterson played only 13 games of the 1925–26 season with Springfield before jumping to the Fall River F.C., where he was reunited with the Egyptian Tewfik Abdullah with whom he played at Derby County, for 20 games. He did not finish the season with Fall River, but moved to the New Bedford Whalers for seven games. He spent the full 1927–28 season in New Bedford, but was transferred to the Providence Gold Bugs seven games into the 1928–29 season and would serve the club as player-manager.[7] He finished the 1929 fall season as the league's leading scorer with 27 goals in 22 games.[8] In 1930, Paterson began the season with the New Bedford Whalers only to jump to the Brooklyn Wanderers.[9] He then played the fall 1931 season with Fall River.[10]
Paterson was the son of football manager Sandy Paterson and played under his father's management at Cowdenbeath. He had a half brother Archie Paterson who was also a footballer. He served as a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War and served overseas before being demobbed in 1919.