Dougie Wallace (soccer)

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Dougie Wallace
Personal information
Full name Douglas Herbert Wallace[1]
Date of birth 20 February 1919[2]
Place of birth Krugersdorp, Union of South Africa[3]
Date of death 25 September 1999(1999-09-25) (aged 80)
Place of death Sefton, England[2]
Position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1938–1946 Clyde 38 (16)
1946–1947 Dunfermline Athletic 16 (12)
1947–1949 Albion Rovers
1949–1954 Llanelly
International career
1941–1943 Scotland (wartime) 3 (2)
1941 Scottish League XI 1 (1)
Managerial career
Llanelly
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Douglas Herbert Wallace (20 February 1919 – 25 September 1999) was a South African professional footballer who played as a centre forward in the Scottish Football League for Clyde, Dunfermline Athletic and Albion Rovers, and was a player and coach of Llanelly in England's Southern Football League.

Career[edit]

Club[edit]

Born and raised in South Africa (Krugersdorp, Transvaal Province) in a family of Scottish origin,[4] as a teenager Wallace featured for a local side against the Aberdeen squad that was touring the country in 1937, managed by Paddy Travers.[3] A year later, Travers became Clyde boss and soon invited the player over to sign for his new club.[5] The move was successful: Wallace (playing at inside left to accommodate Willie Martin)[3] opened the scoring in the 1939 Scottish Cup Final, a 4–0 win over Motherwell which secured the trophy for the first time in Clyde history.[6][7] He is also one of a small group of players to have scored four goals in a match for the Bully Wee.[8]

World War II then intervened, with Wallace playing for Clyde in unofficial competitions throughout its duration.[9][10] In May 1943, he turned out for Hibernian in the Rosebery Charity Cup; in what seems to be his only full appearance for the Edinburgh side, he scored Hibs' goal but the trophy was won by rivals Heart of Midlothian on the toss of a coin[11] (he had also scored in the first attempt to play the match, which was abandoned).[12]

After the conflict ended, in 1946 Wallace moved to Dunfermline Athletic,[13] then in late 1947 signed for Albion Rovers,[14] helping the Coatbridge club to gain promotion to the top tier. The subsequent 1948–49 Scottish Division One campaign ended in relegation with only eight points collected, but remains a significant point in Rovers' history as the last time they played among the nation's elite.[15] In one of his final appearances, Wallace scored the consolation goal in a 4–1 defeat to Rangers which meant that the Gers won the championship after title rivals Dundee unexpectedly lost.[16] There were some high points in the season, which included remarkable back-to-back league comebacks. Firstly, Rovers trailed 1–4 at Easter Road to reigning champions Hibs; Wallace scored the first of three Rovers goals in the last ten minutes and the game ended in a 4–4 draw.[17] In the next match, Rovers were 1–3 down to Celtic at home with nine minutes left. Having already netted the first goal for his side, Wallace scored the equalizer on 85 minutes to secure a 3–3 draw.[18]

Appointed as player-coach in August 1949,[19] Wallace accepted an offer from Llanelly, a lower-league club from Wales with ambitions to become full members of the Football League. Joining as a player-coach under Jack Goldsborough, Wallace played a large part in persuading former Albion Rovers teammate Jock Stein to join the club.[20] However, having been promoted to the Southern League, Llanelly were unsuccessful in their Football League applications and their fortunes declined as investment and interest in the project waned. Wallace also served a period as Llanelly manager.[21]

International[edit]

Despite his birthplace, Wallace made three appearances for Scotland in unofficial wartime fixtures,[1][22] scoring a brace in a 3–2 win over England in February 1941;[23] however the other two caps were in defeats to the same opposition. In the last of these, a 4–0 loss at Hampden Park, Wallace reacted to rough treatment from England captain Stan Cullis by grabbing the defender by the groin.[24][25][4] The referee took no action at the time, but the SFA decided afterwards that Wallace would not be considered for internationals again.[26]

He had also been selected by the Scottish Football League XI in 1941 (the representative match was arranged for the benefit of the RAF Benevolent Fund even though the league itself had been suspended) and was among the scorers again, albeit in a 3–2 defeat by The Football League XI.[27]

Personal life[edit]

His son Gordon – born in Scotland, raised in Wales – also became a footballer, playing in England for Liverpool and Crewe Alexandra.[28]

He died in 1999 in Merseyside, England, with his ashes buried at the family tomb of his wife Helen – who predeceased him by five years – in Ballingry, Fife, Scotland.[29]

Honours[edit]

Clyde

Albion Rovers

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Douglas Herbert Wallace - Scotland Wartime Record". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
  3. ^ a b c "1939 Scottish Cup Final Programme Clyde V Motherwell (scanned page images)". 22 April 1939. Retrieved 9 May 2018 – via Football Programme Centre.
  4. ^ a b The Team That Never Was, Scots Football Worldwide. Retrieved 14 February 2022
  5. ^ "Clyde: 1946/47-2013/14". Post War English & Scottish Football League A-Z Players Transfer Database. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Peace and War - Shawfield - 1920-1945". Clyde F.C. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  7. ^ Scottish Cup final: 80th anniversary for Clyde side that held the trophy longest, BBC Sport, 27 May 2019
  8. ^ "Gormley enters Clyde record books with four-goal haul". Evening Times. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  9. ^ [A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players], John Litster / Scottish Football Historian magazine, October 2012
  10. ^ "Doug Wallace Record vs Heart of Midlothian". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  11. ^ "1943-05-22 Sat Hearts 1 Hibernian 1". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  12. ^ "FOOTBALL". The Scotsman. 10 May 1943. Retrieved 14 April 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ "Dunfermline Athletic: 1946/47-2013/14". Post War English & Scottish Football League A-Z Players Transfer Database. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Albion Rovers: 1946/47-2013/14". Post War English & Scottish Football League A-Z Players Transfer Database. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  15. ^ "History". Albion Rovers F.C. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Eddie Rutherford". The Scotsman. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Albion Rovers 3 Goals in Last 10 Minutes". The Scotsman. 2 October 1948. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ "DRAMA IN THE PENALTY BOX". Sunday Post. 5 October 1948. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. ^ "HIS NEW POST". Dundee Courier. 5 August 1949. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ^ "Scots soccer hero's strong Welsh link". Wales Online. 18 September 2001. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  21. ^ "A brief history of Llanelli Town AFC". The Welsh Football League. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  22. ^ "England - War-Time/Victory Internationals - Details". RSSSF. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  23. ^ "England matches, unofficial until 1946: Match 154". England Football Online. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Not playing ball". Malcolm Bailey's Football Blog. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Fond memories of Auld Enemy". The Herald. 8 January 1996. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  26. ^ "England matches, unofficial until 1946: Match 166". England Football Online. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Douglas Herbert Wallace - Scotland Football League Record". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  28. ^ Jenkins, Lauren (16 May 2016). "Gordon Wallace: The Welsh-voiced Scot who scored Liverpool's first goal in Europe". BBC Sport Wales. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  29. ^ Douglas Herbert Wallace, Find A Grave
  30. ^ "ONLY MOONEY & BRADY IMPRESSED IN PAISLEY'S ALL-CORNER FINAL". Daily Record. 15 May 1939. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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