Willie Lyon Explained

Willie Lyon
Fullname:William King Lyon
Birth Date:7 March 1912
Birth Place:Birkenhead, England
Death Place:Salford, England
Clubs1:Clydebank Juniors
Years3:1933–1935
Clubs3:Queens Park
Caps3:56
Goals3:3
Years4:1935–1940
Clubs4:Celtic
Caps4:146
Goals4:16
Nationalyears1:1938
Nationalteam1:Scottish League XI
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:1940[1]
Nationalteam2:Scotland (wartime)
Nationalcaps2:1
Nationalgoals2:0

William King Lyon (7 March 1912 – 5 December 1962) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played for Queens Park and Celtic.

Career

Lyon began his senior career aged 21 with Queens Park after a spell with Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.[2] He moved to Celtic in 1935. He was a centre-half in the era where that position was changing to an increasingly defensive role, and his attributes in that aspect saw him establish himself in the team ahead of other contenders. He was made captain of Celtic soon after joining the club, and went on to win the Scottish league championship in 1936 and 1938, the Scottish Cup in 1937[3] and the Empire Exhibition Trophy in 1938,[4] [5] as well as a Glasgow Cup[6] and three Charity Cups.[7] [8] [9]

He was never selected for the full Scotland international team (he was ineligible under rules of the time due to his English birthplace),[10] but was a member of a SFA Touring XI squad which visited Canada and the US in 1939.[11] He had also played twice for the Scottish League XI in 1938.[12]

Lyon served in the Scots Guards during World War II, rising to the rank of major and sustaining a leg injury in 1944 which ended his football career. He was awarded the Military Cross.[13]

His younger brother Tom was also a footballer;[14] the pair were briefly teammates at Celtic when Tom joined as a guest player during the war.[15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.11v11.com/matches/irish-xi-v-scottish-xi-28-april-1940-269767/ Irish XI v Scottish XI, 28 April 1940
  2. http://qpfc.com/appearances/l/lyonw.htm Lyon, William
  3. http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/Lyon,+Willie Willie Lyon
  4. Web site: Empire Exhibition Trophy . https://web.archive.org/web/20120921122920/http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com/exhibitiontrophy1938.htm . bot: unknown . September 21, 2012 . 1 October 2017 .
  5. Web site: Celtic player William Lyon. FitbaStats. 2 October 2017.
  6. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VQ41AAAAIBAJ&sjid=pqULAAAAIBAJ&pg=2841%2C2566651 Clyde's Courageous Defence Overpowered
  7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yZlAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WKUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4721%2C1573179 Football Celtic Win Glasgow Charity Cup
  8. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ujc1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=P6YLAAAAIBAJ&pg=4343%2C2632898 Celtic Retain Custody of Glasgow Charity Cup
  9. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_kFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jFkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5076%2C2591214 Rangers Without a Plan Celtic Win Charity Cup: Divers the Man of the Match
  10. https://www.scotsfootballworldwide.scot/didnaecoodnae Dad nae, Cood nae - Calum MacDonald and Willie Lyon
  11. Web site: British FA XI Tours. 25 August 2016. RSSSF. 2 October 2017.
  12. http://www.londonhearts.com/SFL/players/willielyon.html SFL player Willie Lyon
  13. Book: Rafters, Frank. Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants. 2013. Grosvenor House Publishing. 9781781482247.
  14. Web site: Lyon, Thomas . The Celtic Wiki . 29 June 2016.
  15. Web site: Celtic player Thomas Lyon. FitbaStats. 2 October 2017.