William Halliday (14 November 1906 – 1989) was a Scottish professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
inside left
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 be ...
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
, Halliday was an inside left and signed for hometown club Queen of the South in 1923. His brother Dave Halliday had played for Queen's before him in 1920, alongside Ian Dickson. Billy Halliday was a strong and fearless type of player who always gave his all.Dave Halliday profile on "Queens Legends" on www.qosfc.com /ref> His first game was a friendly match versus
Manchester University
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
at
Palmerston Park
Palmerston Park is a association football, football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South F.C., Queen of the South, who have played there ...
that Queen's won 4–1, with Halliday scoring on his debut.
The 1926–27 season saw Queen's drawn for the first time in a cup competition against
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
opposition. They took eventual winners
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 ...
to a replay before being eliminated from the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,'Club History' on qosfc.com /ref>
Halliday was considered by many as the best inside forward in the division. His nine goals in 15 games in his last season at Queen's was noticed by
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
and they offered him a contract. After starring in a 6–3 home victory over St Bernard's on 19 November, Halliday had a decision to make."The Queens" by Iain McCartney on Creedon Publications, 2004
With higher wages on offer and a signing-on fee, as well as his brother's massive success as a goal scoring machine at nearby
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
, Halliday unsurprisingly signed for Newcastle. He played alongside another ex-Queens player,
Hughie Gallacher
Hugh Kilpatrick Gallacher (2 February 1903 – 11 June 1957) was a Scottish people, Scottish association football, football player in the 1920s and 1930s. In 597 senior club games, Gallacher scored 419 goals, playing league football for Airdri ...
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
for two seasons.Halliday, William The Grecian Archive He returned to Dumfries in 1933 and finished his career with
Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire.
His ...
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
after Exeter City, but others assert that this was another sibling, Johnny, whose clubs also included Lincoln City and
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...