McIntosh Willie Image 1 Preston North End 1947

Description

Glasgow born centre forward Willie McIntosh began his football career with Petershill and played for Perth Minors in 1937 from where he joined local Scottish League club St Johnstone in 1938, however the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 severely interrupted his career. After the War he joined First Division club Preston North End in May 1946 and made his Football League debut that August against Leeds United, scoring in a 3-2 win. He then scored successive hat-tricks in his third and fourth matches against Grimsby Town and Charlton Athletic and easily top scored for Preston over the season with 32 goals. McIntosh was less prolific the following season with 17 goals and by the time he signed for Blackpool in January 1949 he had scored 54 goals in 99 matches for The Lambs.

From 1950 he was very much a fringe player for The Seasiders and he wasn’t involved in the 1951 FA Cup run that saw Blackpool beaten in the Final at Wembley. He then joined Stoke City in September 1951 after 13 goals in 57 matches for Blackpool, but he only stayed just over a year at The Victoria Ground, scoring 7 goals in 27 matches for The Potters before joining Walsall in November 1952. He played for the remainder of the season, scoring 9 goals in 23 matches for The Saddlers before retiring at the end of the season.

NB in the photograph taken at The Valley on 6th September 1947, McIntosh scores against legendary Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Sam Bartram. He scored both goals in a 2-1 victory.