Willie Wardrope

Willie Wardrope was an inside left who played at Fulham from 1904 until 1906.

Before Fulham
Willie was born in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire and played football for amateur team Dalziel Rovers upon their formation in 1892 in the Motherwell area when he had just turned 18. The following season he impressed enough to sign a one year contract with Motherwell as they entered the Scottish Football League for the first time. It was around this time that he earned a Junior International cap for Scotland, playing against Ireland in 1894. He moved to join Linthouse the same year, again spending a solitary season there before his big move to Newcastle United in 1895.

His first season with the Magpies in 1895-96 was a roaring success. He scored on his debut and went on to become top scorer for them that season with 20 goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Darwen on 16 November 1895. He would continue to score goals regularly for Newcastle over the next two seasons, and helped them to promotion to the First Division in 1898.

In 1899, Willie was handed a trial for Scotland as he played in a Anglo-Scots versus Home Scots match, but was never picked for their full side.

However, he struggled to maintain his goalscoring prowess in the top flight, netting just six League goals over the next two seasons. He moved to Second Division side Middlesbrough in the summer of 1900 for a new challenge and once again, helped them to promotion to the top division in the 1901-02 season.

Willie moved back to his native Scotland in the summer of 1902, this time to Third Lanark where he spent two seasons, winning two Scottish Cups and winning the League in 1903-04. In February 1903, he was selected to represent the Scottish League in a 1-0 defeat to the Irish League at Grosvenor Park in Belfast.

Fulham (1904-1906)
His services were acquired by Fulham on 3 May 1904, with new manager Harry Bradshaw at the helm, and moved down to London to help Fulham in their quest for a first Southern League title.

Initially starting out as a centre forward before reverting to an inside left position, Willie scored on debut for Fulham, netting the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win away at Tottenham Hotspur. He had a fantastic first season with the Whites, helping the clubwith 16 goals in 27 League appearances.

The 1905-06 season saw Fulham run out Southern League champions, with Willie scoring a further 13 goals in 31 League appearances.

After Fulham
Willie left in May 1906, moving to Swindon Town, who were playing in the same League as Fulham, in Division One of the Southern League. After spending one season with them, he made the move back to Scotland and played out his final playing days with Hamilton Academical, Third Lanark and Raith Rovers.

He emigrated to the United States in 1910 but died of cholera only a year later, passing away shortly after his 37th birthday.

Fulham Matches
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