Bulloch Willie Image 2 Partick Thistle 1917

Description

Larkhall, Lanarkshire born half back Willie Bulloch will go down in Partick Thistle history as the first man to captain The Jags to a Scottish Cup triumph when they won the trophy in 1921, and he is perhaps one of their greatest stalwarts. Bulloch’s early career saw him play for Royal Albert in the Scottish Union, before moving to First Division Port Glasgow Athletic. Some steady performances in two seasons saw him move to then Southern League Tottenham Hotspur, but all his appearances were confined to Spurs’ 2nd string.

A £100 transfer to Kilmarnock in January 1909 saw him return to the Scottish 1st Division, his time at Rugby Park was short lived and he moved back to Royal Albert. It was Thistle director William Lindsay that was responsible for his move to Firhill in the close season of 1909. Bulloch only made 1 appearance for the 1st XI in 1909-10, a Qualifying cup tie away to Bathgate on the 16th October. Thistle had to field 2 teams this day, the 1st XI away in the league to Airdrieonians, and a younger XI at Bathgate, the team at Airdrie won 3-1, while Willie’s team lost 2-1 at Bathgate.

Season 1910-11 saw him start as first choice left back and was an ever present in the league campaign as Thistle finished 4th in the league. Bulloch would continue to command a place in the first XI for the next 13 seasons, and for a long time he held the Partick Thistle club captaincy. The pinnacle of his career came on 16th April 1921 when he led Patrick Thistle to their Scottish Cup triumph in a 1-0 surprise victory over mighty Glasgow Rangers at Celtic Park, before re-joining Port Glasgow for a short spell in 1923 and later returning to Firhill as a coach.

His career at Thistle seen him regarded as one of Scotland’s most consistent halfbacks. Willie Bulloch still ranks 7th on the list of all time Partick Thistle appearance makers with 471 games between 1909 and 1923. He twice represented The Scottish League in 1911 and 1914, and also represented The Scottish F.A. against Canada on their tour of the US and Canada in June & July 1921 towards the end of his career.