The Thistle Archive

Forward Billy joined Thistle from Johnstone Burgh in October 1960. He left more than six years later, and had the claim to fame of scoring Thistle’s first goal in competitive European action. He scored Thistle’s first goal against Glentoran in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup first round, first leg tie at the Oval in Belfast. The date was Monday 16th September 1963, and Billy scored from twelve yards in the 7th minute. Ernie Yard then got a double, with Dougie Wright getting the final goal in the 4-1 victory. Thistle had qualified for the competition by finishing in 3rd place in the SFL First Division for the 1962-63 season. Billy said of the goal “I think it was early on in the game. We won 4-1 and then 3-0 at Firhill, so it was a great start.” The big inside-forward was a regular scorer when he first came into the senior side in August 1961. He was part of the excellent forward line of Cowan; Whitelaw, Hainey, Duffy and McParland, with the Jags doing well in the early to mid-1960s. The third place in the 1962-63 season matched the club’s earlier third places in the 1947-48 and 1953-54 seasons. Billy left Thistle in the springtime of 1966 to join Dundee United for a fee of £8,000. He made just less than one hundred and seventy competitive appearances for Thistle, scoring forty-five goals in competitive matches.

An article in Nutmeg magazine made it clear Billy continued his fine form at Tannadice. On 13th August 1966 he became United’s first ever substitute and scored in the club’s 2-0 victory over Dundee, so he also became their first substitute to score a goal for the club. He played for United in their first European competitive match in their second-leg tie against Barcelona on 25 October 1966. (United got a bye in the first-round.) Billy must have felt some disbelief as he scored the first European competitive goal for United in the 13th minute of the tie at the Nou Camp. He was later fouled in the penalty-box, and Seeman scored the second goal. The match ended 2-1 to United. At the second-leg match at Tannadice Billy scored again, getting United’s second goal, with a “cannonball shot” from thirty-five yards, according to the Dundee Courier. They won 2-0 on the night, and 4-1 on aggregate. It is worth mentioning that Barcelona had won the trophy the previous season. They couldn’t repeat the feat against Juventus in the following round, and exited the competition. Billy left United in October 1967. He joined his home-town club St Mirren on a free transfer, as he couldn’t hold down his first-team place at Tannadice. He also had a short spell with Portadown and (when he was with Dundee United in 1967) both Billy and Walter Smith were sent on loan for the summer to Dallas Tornado in the US National Professional Soccer League, where he scored 2 goals in 11 games. He wound down his career with Beith Juniors in the early 70s. Billy was inducted into the Dundee United Hall of Fame in 2010.

1963 - SFL FIRST DIVISION