douglas_hugh
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| Name: William Hugh Douglas |
Nationality: Scotland |
| Position: goalkeeper |
Signing Information: Transferred from: Ardwick, 01/1894, £ |
| Birthdate: 00-00-0000 |
Years at Club: 1894-1896 |
| Age: () |
Debut: 03/02/1894 v Aston Villa (A) 1-5 (League Division One) |
| Birthplace: Dundee, Scotland |
Previous clubs: Dundee Old Boys, Ardwick |
| Height: |
Farewell to Manchester United: Transferred to Derby County, 02/1896, £ |
| Weight: |
Passed Away: PA |
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Newton Heath's first ever regular Scottish goalkeeper is believed to be William 'Hugh' Douglas. As with many of Heath's Tartan terriers of the 1890s, he hailed from Dundee. His team was Dundee Our Boys whom he served continuously in the second half of the mid-1880s until 1890, except when he was suspended for two months in December 1889 for rough play. On the plus side, he was called up on more than one occasion to represent Forfarshire in inter-county exhibitions.
In 1890 Douglas arrived in Manchester but his destination was Ardwick (now Manchester City). His competitive bow was an easy day out - Ardwick thrashed Stanley 12-0 in an FA Cup tie in October 1890, and he celebrated the end of his first season with a Manchester Senior Cup medal... at Newton Heath's expense. William then appeared in Ardwick's inaugural Football Alliance fixture in 1891-92 and Football League fixture in 1892-93, signing off with a Lancashire Cup outing on January 20th, 1894.
That week, with Ardwick experiencing financial difficulties, Douglas was transferred to neighbours Newton Heath for generous terms... the promise for a first-team friendly between the two clubs! After making his Division One debut against Aston Villa (and conceding 5 goals for the occasion!), William gradually ousted Joe Fall to become the Heathens' main custodian. In 1894-95 he did not miss a single game, establishing himself as a top stopper as Heath fared better in the Second Division.
1895-96 proved to be his last campaign at Bank Street, however, despite playing in the first 18 matches. His problems started in a Manchester Senior Cup tie with Fairfield on January 25th. As the Heathens surprisingly fell to a shock 2-5 home defeat, the irate fans behind the goal vented their fury at William. Distraught, he ran off to Dundee after the game, thus incurring the wrath of the club management, who promptly suspended him.
Douglas had no choice but to leave, joining Derby County for the remainder of the season. Unable to get a game, he moved on again in the summer, guarding the net when Blackpool played their first-ever league match in 1896-97. William excelled at Blackpool, being ever-present in two straight seasons, and even demonstrated an early penchant for gamesmanship, as this anecdote from a contemporary paper shows: "If Douglas were to fail at football, he ought to make his mark on the stage. Taking a goal-kick, he brought the ball some distance further than the line. When the referee insisted the kick be retaken, the keeper's look of blank surprise was a study! It was some time before the ref made him 'understand' that he had infringed the rules".
Eventually he left to Warmley in 1898-99 as they entered the First Division of the Southern League. It was a bad move. Financial strife forced them to dissolve in January 1899, though Douglas got the chance to play in their final fixture. For the rest of the season, Douglas served Wellingborough in the Midland League before returning to his hometown in 1899 and signing for Dundee. Now past his best, William only played two league matches during 1899-00 then retired at the end of the season.
Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude. |
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| League |
League Cup |
FA Cup |
Charity Shield |
European Cup |
Europa League |
Super Cup |
Cup Winners Cup |
Inter-Continental Cup |
World Clubs Cup |
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| No |
Season |
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Season
Goals |
Season
Apps |
| 1 |
1893-1894 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| 2 |
1894-1895 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
32 |
| 3 |
1895-1896 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
| TOTALS |
0 |
56 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
57 |
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