Willie White (footballer)


William Collins White was a Scottish football goalkeeper who played for Heart of Midlothian and Southampton during the 1920s and 1930s.

Football career

Scotland

White started his football career at Hamilton Academical. In 1923 he joined Heart of Midlothian where his younger brother John was already playing. During his time with "Hearts" he made four appearances for the Scottish League. He became "idolised" at Tynecastle and his departure in July 1928 "infuriated" the Hearts' fans.

Southampton

White joined Southampton for a transfer fee of £800, of which £375 was contributed by the Southampton Supporters Club, replacing Tommy Allen who had moved on in the summer. White was described as "very much a student of the game", who concentrated for the full 90 minutes of every game. He made his debut away to Hull City on 25 August 1928 and his arrival helped restore confidence in a defence that had leaked 77 goals in the previous season. He only missed two matches in the 1928–29 season at the end of which the "Saints" achieved their highest league finish to date, fourth in the Second Division, with 60 goals conceded.
In the following season, White retained his place but the defence again conceded goals regularly, including four or more in six matches, ending the season with a "goals against" total of 76, and a seventh-place finish. In September 1930, he lost his place to Bert Scriven and although White regained his place in goal for the last eight matches of the season, Scriven claimed the No. 1 shirt on a permanent basis in September 1931.
At the end of the 1931–32, White left Southampton for a brief spell with Aldershot, who had recently been elected to the Third Division South. In his four years at The Dell, White made a total of 103 appearances.

Career after football

On his retirement from football, White returned to Southampton to take over the Greyhound Inn in Cossack Street, before returning to Scotland, where he later worked as a foreman in a tube-steel works in Glasgow. He died in Glasgow on 28 November 1974.

Family

Willie was one of four brothers who played top-class football — John was an inside-forward with Albion Rovers, Heart of Midlothian and Leeds United, Thomas was also with Hearts and Alloa Athletic, and James with Albion Rovers, Motherwell and in the United States. All four brothers played together for Hearts in the Lord Provost's Rent Relief Cup final of 1923 which their side won through two goals from Jock.