Willie Smith - The Thistle Archive

Willie Smith

Partick Thistle – a People’s History will be the 150th anniversary book; author Kenny Pieper needs your memories and stories from following the Jags… read more on the club website

or get straight to it by e-mailing: ku.oc.cftp|051#ku.oc.cftp|051

people:player's a-z (s): ← prev👤next →

Willie Smith

• Willie Smith, 1956 (ADV)

William Ross Smith was born on Sunday, 9th October, 1932, in Armadale, West Lothian.

The 5' 10 (12st 7lbs) goalkeeper signed for Davie Meiklejohn's Thistle on Thursday, 2nd April, 1953, having most recently been with Linlithgow Rose.

Aged 21, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 28th November, 1953, in a 2-1 defeat away to Celtic in the SFL First Division.

Willie kept his first clean-sheet on Saturday, 10th April, 1954, in a 4-0 win at home to Hamilton Academical in the SFL First Division.

He registered the last of his 16 clean-sheets on Saturday, 19th January, 1957, in a 3-0 win away to Raith Rovers in the SFL First Division.

He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 9th March, 1957, in a 2-1 win at home to Airdrieonians in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 71 occasions.

His club-list included Winchburgh Albion, Linlithgow Rose, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South, Berwick Rangers, Eyemouth United and Bathgate Thistle.

Willie died on Saturday, 29th October, 2011, aged 79.

Willie Smith's Summary Totals


League	48	18	11	19	9
Competitive	63	26	14	23	14
All Games	71	31	15	25	16

The young Willie attended Armadale Public School then Lindsay High in Bathgate. Both schools chose him for their first elevens at an early age, and his fine play earned him the honour of keeping goal for the West Lothian County Schools team. He played juvenile grade with Winchburgh Albion, before switching to the juniors with Linlithgow Rose. From there, the 20-year-old signed terms with Meiklejohn's Thistle in April, 1953.

Willie spent 4 full seasons at Thistle from 1953-54 onwards, although he was merely back-up to Tommy Ledgerwood during the first two years and featured only occasionally in the first-team. In his final two seasons it was more a case of 50/50 between the two, and it was Willie who got himself on the British Paramount movie reel for our 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Brechin City on 18th February 1956. Immortalized on film! He was disappointed not to play in the 1956 League Cup final against Celtic, having played in 7 of the games which got us to that point. It was a tough call from the manager. Celtic won 3-0 in the replay after a scoreless draw.

After being "rewarded" with a free transfer in April 1957, Willie played two seasons with Queen of the South in the top-flight, before moving down a Division with Berwick Rangers in 1959-60, although he was not first-choice at Shielfield. He finished his playing days with Eyemouth United of the Eastern Scotland League and did well in his first season there, finishing 3rd.

(WS)

access match hub

(age) 1953-54

1. (21y, 1m, 19d) #1 Sat-28-Nov-1953 [a] L1-2 Celtic (SFL Division A - game 10)

2. (21y, 1m, 23d) #1 Wed-02-Dec-1953 [a] W3-1 Derby County (Friendly)

3. (21y, 1m, 26d) #1 Sat-05-Dec-1953 [a] L1-4 East Fife (SFL Division A - game 11)

4. (21y, 6m, 1d) #1 Sat-10-Apr-1954 [h] W4-0 Hamilton Academical (SFL Division A - game 27)

5. (21y, 6m, 8d) #1 Sat-17-Apr-1954 [a] L0-6 Dundee (SFL Division A - game 28)

6. (21y, 6m, 10d) #1 Mon-19-Apr-1954 [h] W2-1 Heart of Midlothian (SFL Division A - game 29)

7. (21y, 6m, 15d) #1 Sat-24-Apr-1954 [h] W5-1 Falkirk (SFL Division A - game 30)

8. (21y, 6m, 17d) #1 Mon-26-Apr-1954 [a] W3-1 Brechin City (Archie Paterson Benefit )

9. (21y, 6m, 24d) #1 Mon-03-May-1954 [h] L*1-1 Third Lanark (Glasgow Charity Cup Semi Final) * lost coin toss

(age) 1954-55

10. (22y, 2m, 9d) #1 Sat-18-Dec-1954 [h] L0-3 Hibernian (SFL Division A - game 15)

11. (22y, 5m, 24d) #1 Sat-02-Apr-1955 [h] W2-1 Dundee (SFL Division A - game 27)

(age) 1955-56

12. (22y, 11m, 1d) #1 Sat-10-Sep-1955 [a] D1-1 Dunfermline Athletic (SFL First Division - game 1)

13. (23y, 0m, 20d) #1 Sat-29-Oct-1955 [h] L1-2 Raith Rovers (SFL First Division - game 7)

14. (23y, 0m, 27d) #1 Sat-05-Nov-1955 [h] W2-0 St Mirren (SFL First Division - game 8)

15. (23y, 1m, 3d) #1 Sat-12-Nov-1955 [a] W4-2 Stirling Albion (SFL First Division - game 9)

16. (23y, 1m, 5d) #1 Mon-14-Nov-1955 [h] W1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Friendly)

17. (23y, 1m, 10d) #1 Sat-19-Nov-1955 [h] L1-2 Dundee (SFL First Division - game 10)

18. (23y, 1m, 17d) #1 Sat-26-Nov-1955 [a] L1-5 Hibernian (SFL First Division - game 11)

19. (23y, 1m, 24d) #1 Sat-03-Dec-1955 [a] L1-3 Motherwell (SFL First Division - game 12)

20. (23y, 2m, 1d) #1 Sat-10-Dec-1955 [h] L1-3 Airdrieonians (SFL First Division - game 13)

21. (23y, 2m, 8d) #1 Sat-17-Dec-1955 [a] L1-5 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 14)

22. (23y, 3m, 19d) #1 Sat-28-Jan-1956 [h] D1-1 Kilmarnock (SFL First Division - game 19)

23. (23y, 3m, 26d) #1 Sat-04-Feb-1956 [h] W2-0 Alloa Athletic (Scottish Cup 5th Round)

24. (23y, 4m, 2d) #1 Sat-11-Feb-1956 [a] L0-1 Rangers (SFL First Division - game 20)

25. (23y, 4m, 9d) #1 Sat-18-Feb-1956 [h] W3-1 Brechin City (Scottish Cup 6th Round)

26. (23y, 4m, 16d) #1 Sat-25-Feb-1956 [h] W3-2 Falkirk (SFL First Division - game 21)

27. (23y, 4m, 23d) #1 Sat-03-Mar-1956 [a] L1-2 Raith Rovers (Scottish Cup Quarter Final)

28. (23y, 5m, 22d) #1 Sat-31-Mar-1956 [h] D1-1 Hibernian (SFL First Division - game 26)

29. (23y, 5m, 24d) #1 Mon-02-Apr-1956 [h] W2-0 Heart of Midlothian (SFL First Division - game 27)

30. (23y, 5m, 29d) #1 Sat-07-Apr-1956 [h] W2-1 Motherwell (SFL First Division - game 28)

31. (23y, 6m, 0d) #1 Mon-09-Apr-1956 [h] D1-1 Newcastle United (Friendly)

32. (23y, 6m, 2d) #1 Wed-11-Apr-1956 [h] D1-1 Dunfermline Athletic (SFL First Division - game 29)

33. (23y, 6m, 9d) #1 Wed-18-Apr-1956 [a] D3-3 Airdrieonians (SFL First Division - game 30)

34. (23y, 6m, 14d) #1 Mon-23-Apr-1956 [h] W2-0 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 31)

35. (23y, 6m, 16d) #1 Wed-25-Apr-1956 [h] W9-1 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 32)

36. (23y, 6m, 19d) #1 Sat-28-Apr-1956 [a] W4-0 Aberdeen (SFL First Division - game 33)

37. (23y, 6m, 21d) #1 Mon-30-Apr-1956 [h] L0-2 Aberdeen (SFL First Division - game 34)

38. (23y, 6m, 23d) #1 Wed-02-May-1956 [a] L1-2 Inverness Select (Friendly)

39. (23y, 6m, 26d) #1 Sat-05-May-1956 [a] W4-1 Elgin City (Friendly)

40. (23y, 6m, 29d) #1 Tue-08-May-1956 [a] W2-0 Queen's Park (Glasgow Charity Cup Semi Final)

41. (23y, 7m, 3d) #1 Sat-12-May-1956 [n] L2-4 Third Lanark (Glasgow Charity Cup Final)

(age) 1956-57

42. (23y, 10m, 2d) #1 Sat-11-Aug-1956 [a] W2-0 Falkirk (League Cup Section 4 - game 1)

43. (23y, 10m, 6d) #1 Wed-15-Aug-1956 [h] W3-1 Heart of Midlothian (League Cup Section 4 - game 2)

44. (23y, 10m, 9d) #1 Sat-18-Aug-1956 [h] W4-1 Hibernian (League Cup Section 4 - game 3)

45. (23y, 10m, 16d) #1 Sat-25-Aug-1956 [h] W2-0 Falkirk (League Cup Section 4 - game 4)

46. (23y, 10m, 20d) #1 Wed-29-Aug-1956 [a] D2-2 Heart of Midlothian (League Cup Section 4 - game 5)

47. (23y, 10m, 23d) #1 Sat-01-Sep-1956 [a] D2-2 Hibernian (League Cup Section 4 - game 6)

48. (23y, 11m, 8d) #1 Mon-17-Sep-1956 [a] L0-5 Rangers (Glasgow Cup Semi Final)

49. (23y, 11m, 13d) #1 Sat-22-Sep-1956 [h] D0-0 Queen's Park (SFL First Division - game 2)

50. (23y, 11m, 17d) #1 Wed-26-Sep-1956 [a] L1-4 Tottenham Hotspur (Friendly)

51. (23y, 11m, 20d) #1 Sat-29-Sep-1956 [a] L0-3 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 3)

52. (23y, 11m, 27d) #1 Sat-06-Oct-1956 [n] D0-0 Dundee (League Cup Semi Final) aet

53. (24y, 0m, 0d) #1 Tue-09-Oct-1956 [n] W3-2 Dundee (League Cup Semi Final replay)

54. (24y, 0m, 4d) #1 Sat-13-Oct-1956 [a] L1-4 Rangers (SFL First Division - game 4)

55. (24y, 1m, 8d) #1 Sat-17-Nov-1956 [h] W3-0 Hibernian (SFL First Division - game 8)

56. (24y, 1m, 15d) #1 Sat-24-Nov-1956 [a] D1-1 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 9)

57. (24y, 1m, 17d) #1 Mon-26-Nov-1956 [h] W2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Friendly)

58. (24y, 1m, 22d) #1 Sat-01-Dec-1956 [a] L1-2 Dunfermline Athletic (SFL First Division - game 10)

59. (24y, 1m, 29d) #1 Sat-08-Dec-1956 [h] W2-1 Falkirk (SFL First Division - game 11)

60. (24y, 2m, 6d) #1 Sat-15-Dec-1956 [a] L1-2 East Fife (SFL First Division - game 12)

61. (24y, 2m, 13d) #1 Sat-22-Dec-1956 [h] W2-0 St Mirren (SFL First Division - game 13)

62. (24y, 2m, 16d) #1 Tue-25-Dec-1956 [h] D1-1 Raith Rovers (SFL First Division - game 14)

63. (24y, 2m, 20d) #1 Sat-29-Dec-1956 [a] L1-2 Ayr United (SFL First Division - game 15)

64. (24y, 2m, 23d) #1 Tue-01-Jan-1957 [a] D1-1 Queen's Park (SFL First Division - game 16)

65. (24y, 2m, 24d) #1 Wed-02-Jan-1957 [h] L1-2 Aberdeen (SFL First Division - game 17)

66. (24y, 2m, 27d) #1 Sat-05-Jan-1957 [a] D2-2 Motherwell (SFL First Division - game 18)

67. (24y, 3m, 3d) #1 Sat-12-Jan-1957 [h] W2-1 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 19)

68. (24y, 3m, 10d) #1 Sat-19-Jan-1957 [a] W3-0 Raith Rovers (SFL First Division - game 20)

69. (24y, 3m, 17d) #1 Sat-26-Jan-1957 [h] L0-3 Rangers (SFL First Division - game 21)

70. (24y, 4m, 21d) #1 Sat-02-Mar-1957 [h] D2-2 Heart of Midlothian (SFL First Division - game 24)

71. (24y, 5m, 0d) #1 Sat-09-Mar-1957 [h] W2-1 Airdrieonians (SFL First Division - game 25)

#
1	21y, 6m, 1d	10.04.1954 Hamilton Academical [h] W4-0 (SFL Division A - game 27)
2	23y, 0m, 27d	05.11.1955 St Mirren [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 8)
3	23y, 1m, 5d	14.11.1955 Tottenham Hotspur [h] W1-0 (Friendly)
4	23y, 3m, 26d	04.02.1956 Alloa Athletic [h] W2-0 (Scottish Cup 5th Round)
5	23y, 5m, 24d	02.04.1956 Heart of Midlothian [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 27)
6	23y, 6m, 14d	23.04.1956 Celtic [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 31)
7	23y, 6m, 19d	28.04.1956 Aberdeen [a] W4-0 (SFL First Division - game 33)
8	23y, 6m, 29d	08.05.1956 Queen's Park [a] W2-0 (Glasgow Charity Cup Semi Final)
9	23y, 10m, 2d	11.08.1956 Falkirk [a] W2-0 (League Cup Section 4 - game 1)
10	23y, 10m, 16d	25.08.1956 Falkirk [h] W2-0 (League Cup Section 4 - game 4)
11	23y, 11m, 13d	22.09.1956 Queen's Park [h] D0-0 (SFL First Division - game 2)
12	23y, 11m, 27d	06.10.1956 Dundee [n] D0-0 (League Cup Semi Final)) aet
13	24y, 1m, 8d	17.11.1956 Hibernian [h] W3-0 (SFL First Division - game 8)
14	24y, 1m, 17d	26.11.1956 Tottenham Hotspur [h] W2-0 (Friendly)
15	24y, 2m, 13d	22.12.1956 St Mirren [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 13)
16	24y, 3m, 10d	19.01.1957 Raith Rovers [a] W3-0 (SFL First Division - game 20)

Willie Smith's clean-sheet ratio
16/71 ← success rate → 22.5%

Thistle's clean-sheet ratio
1606/6855 ← success rate → 23.4%
@ 02-Nov-2025

#	v.
1	Bobby Collins v. Willie Smith	28.11.1953 Celtic [a] L1-2 (SFL Division A - game 10)	saved @ 1-2, 43 mins
2	Don Emery v. Willie Smith	05.12.1953 East Fife [a] L1-4 (SFL Division A - game 11)	1-3, pen 73 mins
3	Charlie Sievewright v. Willie Smith	24.04.1954 Falkirk [h] W5-1 (SFL Division A - game 30)	1-1, pen 23 mins
4	Mike Haughney v. Willie Smith	17.12.1955 Celtic [a] L1-5 (SFL First Division - game 14)	1-4, pen 81 mins
5	Jackie Milburn v. Willie Smith	09.04.1956 Newcastle United [h] D1-1 (Friendly)	saved @ 0-1, 1st half
6	Bert Ormond v. Willie Smith	11.08.1956 Falkirk [a] W2-0 (League Cup Section 4 - game 1)	saved @ 2-0, 84 mins
7	Eddie Turnbull v. Willie Smith	18.08.1956 Hibernian [h] W4-1 (League Cup Section 4 - game 3)	missed target @ 0-0, 24 mins
8	Johnny Hubbard v. Willie Smith	17.09.1956 Rangers [a] L0-5 (Glasgow Cup Semi Final)	0-3, pen 62 mins
9	Johnny Hubbard v. Willie Smith	13.10.1956 Rangers [a] L1-4 (SFL First Division - game 4)	0-4, pen 67 mins
10	Pat Quinn v. Willie Smith	05.01.1957 Motherwell [a] D2-2 (SFL First Division - game 18)	1-1, pen 13 mins

Willie Smith's penalty goal prevention
4/10 ← success rate → 40.0%

Thistle's penalty goal prevention
249/847 ← success rate → 29.4%
@ 15-Nov-2025

player

	1954 - LEAGUE (1st tier) Third place
	1956 - GLASGOW CHARITY CUP Runner-up
	1956 - LEAGUE CUP Runner-up

The Thistle Archive

Partick Thistle stats and stories 1876 to date