William Ribchester (28 July 1898 – 23 February 1986) 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 lea ...

who played as an

outside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

. The son of a Lancastrian schoolmaster who relocated to

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

, Ribchester began his senior career with

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in 1916, making two

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

appearances as an 18-year-old filling in for the injured Andy McAtee.

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was already underway, and having already been a member of the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

he was soon called into active duty, serving as a second lieutenant with the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

and being wounded at

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

in August 1918. He was able to resume playing football when the conflict ended, though he could not break into the Celtic team and moved on to

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. Founded in October 1882, the club joined the Scottish Foot ...

, playing in the

1920 Scottish Cup Final The 1919–20 Scottish Cup was the 42nd staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Kilmarnock who defeated Albion Rovers in the final.Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

,Is It Really So Strange?
, Shaughan McGuigan, Tell Him He's Pele, 6 March 2014 at the end of his first of three seasons in

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

. He later played for

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

(initially on loan), being an almost constant presence in the side that won the

1923–24 Scottish Division Two The 1923–24 Scottish Division Two was won by St Johnstone who, along with second placed Cowdenbeath, were promoted to Division One. Vale of Leven and Lochgelly United finished 19th and 20th respectively and were relegated to Division Three. T ...

title, though he played little in the following campaign (the club's first at

Muirton Park Muirton Park was the second of three football stadiums the football club St Johnstone from Perth, Scotland, have occupied in their history. It was preceded by the Recreation Grounds (1885–1924) and succeeded by McDiarmid Park (1989&ndas ...

) and was loaned back to the lower tier with

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

, before ending his career with Armadale. Ribchester was later also a school teacher like his father.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribchester, Bill 1898 births 1986 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scottish people of English descent People from Govan Footballers from Glasgow People educated at St Mungo's Academy Benburb F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Parkhead F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Armadale F.C. players Men's association football outside forwards Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Machine Gun Corps officers 20th-century Scottish sportsmen