William Simeon McPhail (2 February 1928 – 4 April 2003) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who played for Queen's Park, Clyde and

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. He scored three goals in Celtic's record 7–1 victory over Rangers in the 1957 Scottish League Cup final. After retiring, he developed a

neurodegenerative disease A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

, which he believed to be a result of brain damage acquired from heading footballs. He was the younger brother of fellow player John McPhail.

Career

McPhail's 17-year playing career began when he signed for Queen's Park in 1941.Name: McPhail, William Simeon
QPFC.com He was a

centre forward 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 ...

and soon earned the nickname "Teazy Weazy." He was, according to football historian Bob Crampsey, "an extremely graceful player... a particularly good header of a ball".Heading for Trouble (transcript)
'' Frontline Scotland'', 2 May 2000 He was then sold to Clyde in 1947, but his career there was interrupted with recurring injuries. He had an excellent scoring record whilst with the ''Bully Wee'', scoring 90 goals in 137 league games. At Clyde, McPhail missed the 1955 Scottish Cup final with injury. His early career at Shawfield was interrupted in January 1948 when he was called up to the army. McPhail continued to play football in the army. He represented the Southern Command in the Army Command Challenge Cup, and featured regularly for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

representative team. The ''Bully Wee'' won four trophies in season 1951–52. As the team won Division Two, McPhail finished as top scorer in the league. He also scored in three separate cup finals, the

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rule ...

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, and Supplementary Cup, all of which were won. In May 1956 he signed for

for £2,500, the team his elder brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

had previously captained. He made his debut in a 2–1 Scottish League Cup win against

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Later that season, McPhail scored twice in the League Cup final, helping Celtic lift the trophy for the first time. The following year, he starred in the Celtic team that played fierce

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 ...

rivals Rangers in the final of the same competition. The match, referred to by fans in poemHoops bid farewell to hat-trick legend Billy,

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, 6 April 2003 and song as "'' Hampden in the sun''", resulted in a record 7–1 victory to Celtic, with McPhail scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

.Rej, Arindam
Veterans battle to prove brain damage link

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, 23 December 2004 A knee and ankle injury forced McPhail to retire the following year, after just two seasons with Celtic. He played just 57 games for the club in the major domestic competitions, however he is widely described as a "hero" or "idol" for his three goals in the 1957 final which remains a record margin of victory in the fixture.Headers harmed my brain, says footballer
''

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'', 16 April 1998 John McPhail had also scored three goals against Rangers, in the 1950 Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup; this is the only occasion in Old Firm history that brothers achieved this feat.Tom Campbell, ''Glasgow Celtic 1945–1970'', Civic Press, 1970 He was listed on the Greatest 50 Celtic Legends by the ''

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.capped at full international level, McPhail was included in the

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squad for a game against

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in 1955, but was forced to withdraw through injury. He did net a

for a Scotland XI against

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in a benefit match for Jimmy Mason of Third Lanark in 1953. In addition, he scored another hat-trick for a Scottish B League XI against an Irish B League XI in 1952.

Health problems

According to his wife Ophelia, McPhail discovered in the 1990s that the left hemisphere of his brain was damaged. Then aged in his 70s, he had displayed signs of

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

since his 30s, and was eventually diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. McPhail, with the support of medical specialists, associated the neurological symptoms with heading the leather

used in the 1950s, explaining how "the ball used to get very heavy when it rained – when you took that full in the forehead it nearly knocked you over." In 1999 McPhail launched a legal case claiming he was entitled to disability payments. However, an industrial tribunal did not accept that a clash of heads during his playing career could have caused the dementia. The tribunal would not consider whether heading the ball might have contributed, as it categorised that as "part of the job s a footballer and not an

industrial injury Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

. The decision was upheld by the Social Security Commissioner of Scotland. McPhail's condition and its possible causes were discussed during a

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investigative television programme on the subject in 2000, also featuring another former Celtic forward Jock Weir who was suffering from a similar illness. His

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continued to deteriorate and he died in Glasgow on 4 April 2003.

Career statistics

Notes

Representative matches

:''Scores and results list for

XI's, Scottish League XI's, and

XI's goal tally first.''

Honours

Clyde * Scottish Division Two: 1951–52 * Supplementary Cup: 1951–52 *

: 1951–52 * Glasgow Charity Cup: 1951–52 Celtic *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 1956–57, 1957–58

References

External links

*
Review of Hampden in the Sun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcphail, Billy 1928 births 2003 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Men's association football forwards Scottish men's footballers Queen's Park F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Scottish Football League players Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Scotland 20th-century Scottish sportsmen