Willie Lennie

Willie was born in Maryhill, Glasgow on 26^th January, 1882

He started his career in the junior ranks with Maryhill, before joining Queens Park in 1901. He quickly made an impact, being described as “one of the cleverest left-wingers in Scotland,” and came to the attention of Glasgow Rangers. It was rumoured that he had intended to sign for Dundee, but Rangers beat them to his signature.

His time at Ibrox was short, as due to the form of Alick Smith, Willie was unable to break into the first team. He requested a transfer, and Dundee F.C. finally got their man when he signed in June 1903. He soon became a fans favourite, entertaining the crowd, who found him in “dandy form.”

In September, Willie sustained a serious injury in a game against St Mirren. As the first half drew to a close, he was intercepted by a fierce tackle, a defender landing heavily on his knee. The result was a “displaced cartilage”, which could be a career threatening injury. He was sent to Matlock House in Manchester for rehabilitation. He returned to his home in Glasgow by mid-October, after making a “wonderful recovery,” and was back in the team for the match against Hearts on the 19^th.

Unfortunately the injury came back to plague him the following month whilst he had been doing extra training back home in Maryhill. A press report said, “He had been shooting at goal for about an hour, in having a parting shot, slipped on the greasy ground, falling heavily on his weak knee.”

Worse was to come though, when, on the 21^st November, he was dismissed, and fellow teammate Wilson was suspended for a month by the club. The directorate felt the need to discipline both players severely after they were accused of “misbehaviour and inattention to training.” Dundee had recently been beaten 6-1 by Rangers, and the directors were looking for the team to put in extra effort, and show more discipline.

By Christmas Eve, the directors announced that both players had been reinstated. Lennie was back at Dens Park and had been training hard. Whilst Wilson was at Matlock House getting physiotherapy. Willie had been missed, and went straight back into the team.

As the 1903-04 season was drawing to a conclusion interest south of the border was shown by Millwall F.C. They offered Willie £2 10s a week to move to the Isle of Dogs. Lennie rejected the offer saying that his lowest terms were £4 a week all year. He signed, instead, for Fulham in June. He became a popular player amongst the Craven Cottage supporters, but by the start of the 1905-06 season he had signed for Aberdeen F.C.

He spent the longest spell of his football career at Pittodrie, and was awarded a benefit match in 1910 with a “guarantee” of £150. A crowd of 5,000 watched him turn out against his old team, Dundee, Aberdeen won 3-2.

During his time in Aberdeen Willie gained two international caps, the first Dons player to have done so. The first was against Wales at Dens Park in 1908, which Scotland won 2-1. He scored the winning goal three minutes before the end of the match. Followed by Northern Ireland a week later, which Scotland also won, 5-1. He was selected for Scottish League v Irish League, Home Scots x Anglo-Scots and Scottish League v Southern League during the course of his career.

The next club to have Willie on their books were Falkirk, when he couldn’t come to terms with Aberdeen. The Bairns paid a fee of £35 in November 1913. He was on the move again the following October, signing for St Johnstone, before hanging up his boots in 1915.

Upon retirement, he made the move north again, settling in Aberdeen, working for a publishing firm. By 1917 he was employed by Messrs J. M. Henderson, an engineering firm in the city, working on munitions. He also played for their team in the local Amateur League tournament.

He went on to own a newsagent’s business, which he ran up until three years before his death. In later life he became a keen bowler, and was a member of the Kittybrewster and Woodside clubs.

Willie died, at the age of 72, on 23^rd August 1954 in Aberdeen.