William Maxwell (footballer)

William Maxwell
Personal information
Full name William Sturrock Maxwell
Date of birth 21 September 1876
Place of birth Arbroath, Scotland
Date of death 14 July 1940(1940-07-14) (aged 63)
Playing position Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
– Hearts Strollers
– Arbroath
– Hearts
– Dundee
1895–1901 Stoke 153 (74)
1901–1902 Third Lanark ? (10)
1902–1903 Sunderland 7 (3)
1903–1905 Millwall Athletic 0 (0)
1905–1908 Bristol City 120 (58)
Total 280+ (145+)
National team
1902 Scottish League XI[1] 1 (0)
Teams managed
1910–1913 Belgium
1920–1938 Belgium
1937–1938 Cercle Brugge
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

William Sturrock Maxwell (21 September 1876 – 14 July 1940) was a Scottish professional footballer and amateur cricketer.[2] Born in Arbroath, he played for hometown club Arbroath F.C., Dundee, Heart of Midlothian, Stoke City, Sunderland, Third Lanark and Bristol City. He also gained one cap for the Scotland national team.[3] He finished as the top scorer in the Scottish Football League Division One in the 1901–02 season,[4] and later, while at Bristol City, he was the Second Division topscorer with 27 goals in the 1905–06 season.[5]

Maxwell later coached the Belgian national team.[3]

Career

Maxwell almost signed for Stoke in the summer of 1894. Maxwell was a solicitor's clerk in Dundee and he wanted the security of a similar position in Stoke-On-Trent. It took a year before he signed for Stoke in the summer of 1895. He was 18 at the time and was a great prospect. For six seasons he was a prolific goalscorer for Stoke and he also gained a Scotland cap. Stoke, however, had financial problems and had to sell Maxwell to Third Lanark for £250 in 1901. Maxwell went on to Sunderland and Bristol City where he continued his career. Maxwell retired in 1909 and moved to Belgium to move in to management.[6]

Outside of football, Maxwell played a single cricket match for Staffordshire in the 1904 Minor Counties Championship against Dorset.[7] In Staffordshires' first-innings, he was dismissed for 4 runs by Hubert Greenhill, becoming one of Greenhill's 8 victims in the innings. In their second-innings, he opened the batting, scoring 18 unbeaten runs.[8]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke 1895–96 23 7 4 4 27 11
1896–97 29 13 2 3 31 16
1897–98 21 11 2 0 23 11
1898–99 31 16 6 3 37 19
1899–1900 22 11 0 0 22 11
1900–01 27 16 3 0 30 16
Total 153 74 17 10 170 84
Sunderland 1902–03 7 3 0 0 7 3
Total 7 3 0 0 7 3
Bristol City 1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
Total 120 58 120 58
Career Total 280 135 17 10 297 145

References

  1. ^ http://www.londonhearts.com/SFL/players/williammaxwell.html
  2. ^ "Player profile: William Maxwell". CricketArchive. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/333/333131/333131.html. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
  3. ^ a b Scottish FA
  4. ^ RSSSF
  5. ^ "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engtops.html#1947-1. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  6. ^ Matthews, Tony: "The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City "(Lion Press, 1994, ISBN 1-85983-100-1)
  7. ^ "Minor Counties Championship Matches played by William Maxwell". CricketArchive. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/333/333131/Minor_Counties_Championship_Matches.html. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
  8. ^ "Dorset v Staffordshire, 1904 Minor Counties Championship". CricketArchive. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/87/87096.html. Retrieved 18 June 2011.