Will Gibson
{{short description|Scottish footballer}}
{{Other people|William Gibson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = William Gibson
| image =
| fullname = William Gibson{{ENFA}}
| birth_date = 16 February 1868
| birth_place = Loudoun, Scotland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1911|09|15|1868|02|16|df=y}}[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/156679621/William-Gibson William Gibson], Find A Grave. Retrieved 19 February 2022
| death_place = Lincoln, England
| position = Full back
Left half
| years1 = 1886–1887 | clubs1 = Flemington Thistle | caps1 = |goals1 =
| years2 = 1887–1888 | clubs2 = Cambuslang | caps2 = |goals2 =
| years3 = 1888–1894 | clubs3 = Sunderland | caps3 = 75 |goals3 = 5
| years4 = 1894–1895 | clubs4 = Rangers | caps4 = 17 |goals4 = 1
| years5 = 1895–1896 | clubs5 = Sunderland | caps5 = 16 |goals5 = 1
| years6 = 1896–1897 | clubs6 = Notts County | caps6 = 41 |goals6 = 0
| years7 = 1897–1898 | clubs7 = Bristol City | caps7 = |goals7 =
| years8 = 1898–1903 | clubs8 = Lincoln City | caps8 = 130 |goals8 = 1
| totalcaps = 279| totalgoals = 8
| nationalyears1= 1895
| nationalteam1= Scottish League XI
| nationalcaps1= 1
| nationalgoals1= 0
}}
William Gibson (16 February 1868 – 15 September 1911) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Lincoln City, Notts County and Sunderland, and in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, as a left back or left half.
Club career
Born into a coal mining family in Ayrshire, Gibson spent most of his early life in Wishaw. Having avoided more time down the pit when he signed for Sunderland from Cambuslang, he made his competitive debut for the Wearsiders on 27 October 1888 against Elswick Rangers in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round; his side won the match 5–3.{{cite web|url=http://www.thestatcat.co.uk/Imatchdets/IMD4734.asp|title=Sunderland 5-3 Elswick Rangers|publisher=The Stat Cat|accessdate=24 February 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518105245/http://www.thestatcat.co.uk/Imatchdets/IMD4734.asp |archivedate=18 May 2008}} He went on to make 100 league and cup appearances for Sunderland across two spells, scoring six goals, and played an important role in their consecutive Football League title winning seasons, with 20 appearances in 1891–92 and 30 in 1892–93.{{cite web|url=http://www.thestatcat.co.uk/Mplayers/MPG354.asp|title=Will Gibson|publisher=The Stat Cat|accessdate=24 February 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831032041/http://www.thestatcat.co.uk/Mplayers/MPG354.asp |archivedate=31 August 2006}}
During his one-year spell in Glasgow with Rangers,[http://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/player.php?playerid=1899 (Rangers player) Gibson, William], FitbaStats [record contains one minor match involving several reserve players in 1904. Reports from the time make no mention of a well-known older player returning, as would be expected in the circumstances – likely to be a different player of the same name] Gibson was selected for the Scottish Football League XI,{{cite web |url=https://www.londonhearts.com/SFL/players/willgibson.html |title=[SFL player] Will Gibson |website=London Hearts Supporters' Club |accessdate=29 May 2020}} believed to be his only representative honour. After a short second spell at Sunderland, he later won the Football League Second Division with Notts County in 1896–97 (promotion was secured via 'test matches' including a victory against Sunderland).{{cite magazine|title=A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players|author=John Litster|magazine=Scottish Football Historian magazine|date=October 2012}}
His younger sister Marion married Jimmy Miller, one of Sunderland's star forwards of the period (both also played for Rangers, but not at the same time).{{cite book | last = Mitchell | first = Andy | url=https://www.scottishsporthistory.com/the-men-who-made-scotland.html |title = The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939 | publisher = Amazon | year = 2021 | isbn=9798513846642}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Will}}
Category:Scottish men's footballers
Category:Sunderland A.F.C. players
Category:Men's association football wing halves
Category:Cambuslang F.C. players
Category:Notts County F.C. players
Category:Bristol City F.C. players
Category:Lincoln City F.C. players
Category:Footballers from East Ayrshire
Category:Footballers from Wishaw
Category:English Football League players
Category:Scottish Football League players