Bauchop Willie Image 1 Plymouth Argyle 1905

Description

Alloa, Clackmannanshire born outside left Willie Bauchop began his football career with Abercorn in 1900 and played for East Stirlingshire before joining his hometown club, Alloa Athletic in 1901, before heading south to join Southern League Plymouth Argyle in the summer of 1905. Primarily an outside-left, the Argyle handbook of 1905-06 states that he was “a young stranger we know little of, but if trial matches go for anything he should turn out a real find”. Sadly this optimism was not borne out and he made little impression on the first team during his single season at Home Park making only 7 appearances with his debut coming against Southampton that September, scoring a single goal for The Pilgrims before moving back to Scotland to play for Heart of Midlothian in 1906.

At Hearts he made 18 appearances scoring 3 times during 1906-07. Bauchop then had a short spell with North Eastern League Carlisle United in 1907 before joining Second Division Stockport County in the 1909 close season, where he made his Football League debut against West Bromwich Albion in September 1909. He scored 6 goals in 41 appearances for The Hatters and after two seasons at Edgeley Park signed for Leicester Fosse in 1911, playing 21 times in his only season at the club, scoring once. He went on to play for Southern League Norwich City in 1912, thereafter having spells with Fulham and Grimsby Town, making first team appearances for neither, before returning to Alloa Athletic in 1914 to end his career.

He was the older brother of Jimmy Bauchop who played football for a variety of clubs including Alloa, Celtic, Norwich City, Crystal Palace and Bradford Park Avenue.