William Cowan Fotheringham (1899 – 1981) was a Scottish
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. He made over 700 first team league and cup appearances during his career with Dundee,
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
of the latter two clubs as well as
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...
.
Playing career
Airdrieonians
A native of
Larkhall
Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France.
Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the ...
, Fotheringham joined Airdrieonians in 1919Biography of Willie Fotheringham /ref> from hometown
junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
club
Larkhall Thistle
Larkhall Thistle Football Club is a football club from Larkhall, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Formed in 1878, "the Jags" are Scotland's oldest continuous Junior football club and currently compete in the . The team plays in red and white str ...
Fotheringham joined Dundee in summer 1921 where in his three-year spell he only missed three out of 118 matches. In his time at
Dens Park
Dens Park, officially known as Kilmac Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yard ...
his team finished in fourth, seventh and fifth in the league table. Their best
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Third Lanark
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
required two replays to eliminate Dundee in the quarter-finals.
Fotheringham also played in a Dundee seven-game end of season tour to Spain in 1923 when the ''Dee'' were unbeaten against Athletic Bilbao (two games), Real Madrid (one game) and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
(two games) before losing to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Fotheringham provided correspondence on that tour for the
Dundee Evening Telegraph
The ''Evening Telegraph'' is a local newspaper in Dundee, Scotland. Known locally as the ''Tele'' (usually pronounced ''Tully or Tilly''), it is the sister paper of '' The Courier'', also published by Dundee firm D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. It w ...
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...
in 1924. They reached the 1925–26 Scottish Cup quarter-finals, losing to Rangers. He made another 105 appearances at Cappielow before departing in June 1927 for £275.
St Mirren
He joined St Mirren, playing 183 times for the ''Buddies''. In his six seasons at
Love Street
"Love Street" is a song performed by the American rock band the Doors. Sequenced as the second album track on '' Waiting for the Sun'', its lyrics were written by lead singer Jim Morrison and as with other songs, it was dedicated to his girlfrien ...
his team finished fifth three times, seventh once and eight once. They reached the 1928–29 Scottish Cup semi-finals where again Rangers were his nemesis. In 1931, St Mirren were eliminated in the semi-finals by Motherwell.
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league syst ...
in the final.George McLachlan profile and 1936 Overseas tour feature on "Queens Legends" official Queen of the South FC website He was at the club for the elimination of Rangers from the Scottish Cup in 1937.
In his last season at ''Queens'' he saw off a challenge for the goalkeeper's jersey by Reuben Bennett. In one game away to Arbroath, Fotheringham left behind his false teeth in the goalmouth at the ground in error. The teeth were returned to Fotheringham via a fish delivery lorry from Arbroath.
Although he played for 17 seasons in Scotland's top division, Fotheringham was never selected for the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
, nor the League Select team; the closest he came to international recognition was an appearance in the
Home Scots v Anglo-Scots
Home Scots v Anglo-Scots was an annual association football trial match organised by the Scottish Football Association between the 1890s and 1920s to examine the abilities of possible players for upcoming full British Home Championship internatio ...
In 1942, he returned to Paisley to manage St Mirren and he steered them to winning the Summer Cup the following year against Rangers. While at Love Street he introduced Jimmy Cowan and Willie Telfer into the senior grade. Due to ill health he left the ''Saints'' in 1945, soon becoming
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...
's manager. Five years later he took over the reins at another of his former clubs, Airdrieonians. His stewardship at
Broomfield Park
Broomfield Park was a association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, home of Airdrieonians F.C. (1878), Airdrieonians from 1892 until it was closed after the 1993–94 in Scottish football, 1993–94 football season.
Aird ...
terminated in 1954 following the club being relegated.
Fotheringham later on in life scouted for Carlisle United then Queen of the South, bringing George 'Chopper' Dickson to Dumfries.
See also
*
List of footballers in Scotland by number of league appearances
The following is a list of footballers who have made at least 500 domestic league appearances in Scottish league football. This includes the appearances and goals of players, in the Scottish Professional Football League, or its predecessor competi ...