William Cox

William Cox was a promising Scottish winger who was tipped for the very top but ended up calling it quits after short spells at Ballymena and Coleraine.

Born in the Lanarkshire town of Chapelhall, William came to the attention of senior clubs in his late teens after starring on the wing for Glasgow club St. Roch’s. In July 1927, the 19-year-old forward made the move straight into the Scottish top division with Falkirk – making his league debut against St. Johnstone on 20 August.

Cox impressed in the forward line for the Bairns, who finished the 1927/1928 in tenth position (from 20 teams). So much so that scouts from some of the big English clubs were taking a keen interest in his progress, including legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman who attended a game against Celtic, with an eye on William – the Scottish press reported.

Following another successful season at Brockville Park with Falkirk and being touted as one of the best wingers in the Scottish league, Cox was signed by English First Division club Portsmouth and was joined by a fellow Scot J. McInnes McNeil from Maryhill. Unfortunately, the winger’s 1929/1930 season was consigned to the Reserves at Fratton Park as he failed to make his bow in the Football League at Pompey and eventually returned to Scotland in April 1930, finishing the final few games of the campaign with Albion Rovers in the Scottish Second Division, Cox remained at Albion for the next campaign (1930/1931) before he made the move across the Irish Sea to join a sizeable Scottish contingent at the Ballymena Showgrounds.

His Ballymena debut came in a scoreless draw against Derry City in August 1931, with his first goal the following month in a Gold Cup quarter-final against Ards. Cox finished his 1931/1932 campaign with the Sky Blues with nine goals from 34 matches, in a five-man forward line that often contained a combination four fellow Scots (Haddow, Cameron, Stoddart and Murphy) to support centre-forward John Barr. William was part of the defeated Braid team in the Gold Cup final at Solitude, losing 3-0 to Coleraine in front of 10,000 fans.

Come the end of the season, the Ballymena selectors retained 24-year-old William’s registration as was the norm – but amidst ongoing financial concerns for the club. The ‘unreasonable’ offer made to the player, forced Cox to protest directly to the league in June 1932, to which his release from the registration was willingly granted by the Ballymena club officials.

This allowed William to return to Scotland, having had an offer from an unnamed Irish club, he signed for Raith Rovers, then of the Scottish Second Division but failed to make an early impression at Stark’s Park, having to wait until November to make his club debut. He made a shock move back to the Irish League with his old rivals Coleraine in January 1933 and whilst impressing during the remainder of the 1932/1933 season, he failed to renew terms – again being cited by the media as demanding of wages that clubs in the Irish League simply couldn’t afford.

The Bannsiders remained Cox’s last known senior club, as his football career petered out following two seasons back in Scotland with junior side Solway Star, before retiring in 1935.

William Cox passed away in Airdrie in May 1972, aged 64.

Career
St. Roch’s; (Jul 1927) Falkirk; (Jun 1929) Portsmouth; (Apr 1930) Albion Rovers; (Jul 1931) Ballymena; (Jul 1932) Raith Rovers; (Jan 1933) Coleraine; (1934) Solway Star

Honours
(with Ballymena)
Gold Cup: (finalist) 1931/1932