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Willie Finlay

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Willie Finlay
Personal information
Full name William Morris Finlay
Date of birth (1926-08-09)9 August 1926
Place of birth Auchterderran, Scotland
Date of death 4 September 2014(2014-09-04) (aged 88)
Place of death Fife, Scotland
Position(s) Centre half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Bowhill Rovers
1946–1956 East Fife 282 (0)
1956–1963 Clyde 182 (3)
1963–1964 Raith Rovers 12 (0)
Total 476 (3)
Managerial career
Lochore Welfare
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Morris Finlay (9 August 1926 – 4 September 2014) was a Scottish professional football player and coach.

Career

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Born in Auchterderran, Finlay played as a centre half for Bowhill Rovers, East Fife, Clyde and Raith Rovers, making a total of 476 appearances in the Scottish Football League.[1]

With East Fife he won the League Cup three times (1947–48, 1949–50, 1952–53) plus the 1947–48 Scottish Division Two title, two B Division Supplementary Cups and a Scottish Cup runners-up medal in 1949–50; with Clyde he won the Scottish Cup in 1957–58 plus two lower-tier titles (1956–57 and 1961–62).[2] He was among the most highly regarded players of the period never selected to represent Scotland, though at the time there was a strong pool of local talent at various clubs across the country.[2]

After retiring from playing he became manager of Lochore Welfare.[1] He died in 2014, at which time he had been the longest-living member of East Fife's 'golden era' between the 1930s and 1950s.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Profile". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Obituary: Willie Finlay, East Fife footballer". The Scotsman. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.