Puggy Allan
Puggy Allan
Puggy Allan
● Puggy Allan, 1930s (HA)

born in Scotland

William Pugie Allan was born on Monday, 17th October, 1904, in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire.

The 5' 7 (11st 8lbs) defender signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Wednesday, 2nd September, 1936, having most recently been with Motherwell.

Aged 31, he made his debut appearance on Tuesday, 8th September, 1936, in a 5-1 win at home to Queen's Park in the SFL First Division.

There were no goals for Puggy during his time with Thistle.

He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 9th January, 1937, in a 4-2 defeat away to Aberdeen in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 11 occasions.

His club-list included Burnbank Athletic, Hamilton Academical, Motherwell, Dalbeattie Star, Partick Thistle, Bo'ness and Albion Rovers.

Puggy died on Sunday, 23rd November, 1969, in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, aged 65.

Bio Extra

The son of a builder in Strathaven, “Puggy”, as he was commonly known, worked in the family business as well as being a well kent footballer, easily recognised by his trademark skull cap! He was a tenacious never-say-die right back, known for his powerful clearances. Whilst in the juniors with Burnbank Athletic he was capped 4 times for Junior Scotland and also represented Lanarkshire county. He made his senior debut for Hamilton Academical on 11th August 1928, at home to Third Lanark. Overall, he made 211 competitive appearances for the Accies, featuring on the losing side in the semi-final of the 1931–32 Scottish Cup. Puggy was touted for a senior cap for Scotland, and came close when he was listed as the reserve for the match against France in May 1932.

Unhappiness with his terms at Accies eventually led to Puggy making the bold move to high-flying Motherwell in December 1933, where he made around 30 League appearances in all. By the end of 1935-36 he was out of the picture at Fir Park and had a brief spell at Dalbeattie Star, before landing a decent move to Thistle in September 1936. All 11 of Puggy's first team appearances for the Jags were made in the League over the next 4 months. His 4-3-4 results record was mid-table personified, but included thumping great home wins over Queen's Park (5-1, September), Clyde (6-0, September) and Kilmarnock (4-0, December). He then gave up the game to follow a career in insurance, but was enticed back to appear for Bo’ness in 1938. Puggy closed his playing career with Albion Rovers, mainly in their reserve side, before deciding to retire when war broke out in 1939 after being freed by the Coatbridge club. He was quite a prominent tennis player in the area in his day. He died at his home in Strathaven on 23rd November 1969.

(HAMB/WS)



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