McBeath, William
From RangersPedia
| William McBeath
|
Biography
William McBeath, henceforth referred to as Willie, was born in Main Street Callandar Perthshire on 7 May 1856. When Willie was 9 years old his father died, soon afterwards Willie his mother and sister moved to Glasgow. They lived at 17 Cleveland St in the West End of the city.
At the same address also lived some of the McNeil family from Garelochhead; Moses McNeil wasn't there at the time. Willie became friends with the McNeils and when Moses McNeil joined his siblings at 17 Cleveden St., no one was to know that something big was beginning.
Around the same time as the Pioneers were conceiving Rangers, Willies mother died. Bearing that in mind, Willie was just about to turn 16 a lot to carry on young shoulders. It is his signature on her death certificate. The family story of the McBeaths is indeed a sad one.Willie had a relatively short stay with Rangers from the first game in 1872 until his last game in November 1875.
The 20 year old William made his debut against Callander, the game finishing 0-0, and William picking up man of the match.He had collected so many battle scars that he had to spend all week in bed!
Willies story moves on to England,where he spent some time in the Bristol area. He had married and had children and was doing quite well at this time. This family idyll does not last as Willie descended the ladder of success. Drifting and living in a series of boarding houses he became involved in some sort shady dealing, a bigamous marriage and appearing in court on fraud charges, although he was later acquitted of these charges.
His life deteriorated rapidly ending in Lincoln poorhouse, aged 55 penniless and a certified imbecile.
Credit goes to Vanguard Bears for securing a lease on the burial plot and the many people who donated towards the headstone; it was a very worthy cause indeed.
Rangers Career Statistics
| Season | Cup | Friendlies | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 1872/73 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1873/74 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 1874/75 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 1875/76 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 0 | 22 | 6 | 27 | 6 |
Honours
No honours whilst at Rangers
Images
External Links
Rangers Media article
Gallant Pioneers
Vanguard Bears announcement
