William Sharp (25 May 1922 – 16 January 1992) was a Scottish professional

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

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. His only professional club was

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

, and he holds the club's all-time goalscoring recordPTFC Legend: Willie Sharp
Partick Thistle FC, 2010 (although the total includes seven years of unofficial wartime matches).

Career

Born in

Dennistoun Dennistoun () is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's Glasgow#East End, east end, about east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun (ward), Dennist ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Sharp trained to become a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

while moving through the grades as a footballer, being signed by top division

as a teenager in 1939 after a short spell in Junior level with

Shettleston Shettleston (, ) is an area in the Glasgow#East End, east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name "Shettleston" is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a multitude of spellings. A papal bu ...

. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

soon intervened, and he continued to develop with the ''Jags'' in unofficial competitions throughout the conflict (having been rejected from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

on health grounds),The Past Masters: Willie's Amazing Secret...
1972 (via Partick Thistle History Archive) culminating in a Summer Cup win in June 1945. By now established in the creative

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 ...

position but also adept playing at

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 ...

, Sharp was an important member of the Partick Thistle team after regular competitions resumed in 1946. In December 1947, Sharp scored a goal after seven seconds had elapsed in a match against Queen of the South, which still stands as the quickest recorded in Scottish football.Thistle Stars From The Past
Partick Thistle match programme, 6 December 1980 (via Partick Thistle History Archive) That season, Partick finished in 3rd position in the League Championship, and achieved the same in 1953–54. They also reached the 1953 Scottish League Cup Final but lost to East Fife, the same opponent who had defeated them narrowly in the semi-final of the 1949–50 Scottish Cup. Thistle also lost the 1956 Scottish League Cup Final leaving their talented 1950s generation without a major honour, although by then Sharp was no longer a first team regular, and he retired aged 35 in 1957 to continue his plumbing business which he had continued on a part-time basis during his playing career. He made 573 appearances for the ''Jags'' in all competitions, scoring 229 goals, and won the minor

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 ...

twice (1950–51 and 1952–53). He died in 1992. Sharp has been mentioned as one of the most skilled players never to have been capped by the Scotland national team,The Quiet Man Who Hasn't A Cap
1956 (via Partick Thistle History Archive) the closest he came being a single appearance for the

Scottish Football League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

in 1952, an unexpected but deserved 3–0 defeat to the

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...

teamWelsh Football League's Mastery
The Glasgow Herald, 25 September 1952 (via Partick Thistle History Archive) which would have done little to improve his selection prospects. He could be considered unfortunate to have played in the same position as Billy Steel who was an almost automatic choice in the period, besides which there was a good selection of native talent across the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Willie 1922 births 1992 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Glasgow United F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Men's association football inside forwards Partick Thistle F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players People educated at Whitehill Secondary School People from Dennistoun 20th-century Scottish sportsmen