WILSON, David (1904)

Overview

An Ayrshire man, born in Irvine on 14th January 1884. From junior football he signed for St Mirren 1901 as a teenager. Within a couple of seasons he was allowed to go and Accies used him in a few matches as a centre forward. In November 1904 he travelled to Yorkshire to join Bradford until a transfer was arranged with Oldham Athletic and for a fee of £60 the transaction was completed. His time at Oldham was the highlight of his playing days. There he played at left half and had a run of 264 League games for the club which ended only due to a bad injury sustained in January 1912.

The following year he received his only Scottish cap when he was in the side which met England this was gained following him appearing in the Anglo Scots side versus the Home Scots at Cathkin. The following year he captained the Anglo Scots side in the annual fixture. He left Oldham in May 1921 to become player/manager to Nelson and in the season in which he celebrated his 40th birthday he had appeared in 31 Division Two games, testimony to his remarkable fitness. During his spell there, Nelson won the Division Three (North) Championship. He played mainly at outside right by this time.

He retired as a player in the 1924 close season. He then ran a stocks and shares business in Blackpool, a role he fulfilled until March 1928 when he performed a similar function for Exeter City. He was one of almost 100 applicants for the manger’s job at Exeter. This lasted for a year. When he was with Nelson in 1923 they won the English Third Division title and at that time he played mainly on the right flank. Two brothers also played at the top level, one with Sheffield Wednesday, the other at St Mirren.

He was 5’8” and 12sts 6lbs at the peak of his playing career.

Debut on 15th August 1904 in a West of Scotland League match away to Clyde.

Scottish League 5 Appearances

Scottish Qualifying Cup 2 Appearances

Accies Career

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