William Cringan

Willie Cringan

Personal information
Full name	William Cringan
Date of birth	21 April 1890
Place of birth	Muirkirk, Scotland
Date of death	12 May 1958(1958-05-12) (aged 68)
Place of death	Bathgate, Scotland
Position(s)	Centre half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Douglas Water Thistle
1910–1917	Sunderland	77	(2)
1916–1917	→ Ayr United (loan)	53	(2)
1917	Ayr United	6	(0)
1917–1923	Celtic	203	(9)
1923–1924	Third Lanark	30	(0)
1924–1925	Motherwell	16	(1)
1925	Inverness Thistle	16	(1)
1925–1926	Bathgate
Total		399	(14)
International career
1919–1921	Scottish Football League XI	4	(0)
	Scotland (wartime)	1	(0)
1920–1923	Scotland	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Cringan (21 April 1890 – 12 May 1958) was a Scottish footballer who played for Sunderland, Ayr United, Celtic, Third Lanark and Motherwell, and for the Scotland national team.

Career

Club

Cringan, a centre half, started his senior career when he joined Sunderland from Douglas Water Thistle in 1910.[1][2] After five and a half seasons on Wearside, and with English football suspended during World War I, he returned to Scotland with Ayr United on a temporary transfer in January 1916. In the summer of 1917 he left the Black Cats to join Ayr on a permanent basis,[3] signing for Celtic in a £600 transfer deal a few months after that.[1]

Cringan was appointed Celtic captain soon after his arrival, a position he held until his departure.[4] During this time the club won the 1918–19 and 1921–22 Scottish League titles[5] and the Scottish Cup in 1923. He eventually left the Parkhead club in October 1923 when he joined Third Lanark. A year later he moved to Motherwell, where he moved away from top-level football following the 1924–25 season, with short spells outside the league with Inverness Thistle and Bathgate before retiring altogether.[3]

International

Cringan was first selected for the Scottish national side on 26 February 1920, captaining the side in a 1–1 draw against Wales. He was not selected again until 1923 but would eventually win a total of five international caps, three as captain.[6] Cringan also featured in four matches for a Scottish Football League select side.[7]

Personal life

Cringan's brother Jimmy was also a professional footballer, who played for twelve seasons with Birmingham between 1922 and 1934.[1] Another brother Robert played for Ayr United.[8]

Cringan married the sister of footballer Peter Nellies;[9] the brothers-in-law played together once for the Scottish League XI in 1919.[10]

Honours

Sunderland

• Football League champions: 1912–13

Celtic[4]

• Scottish League: 1918–19, 1921–22
• Scottish Cup: 1922–23
• Glasgow Cup: 1919–20, 1920–21

See also

• List of Scotland national football team captains
• List of Scotland wartime international footballers
• List of Scottish football families

References

1. Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872–1986. Hutton Press. ISBN 0-907033-47-4.
2. Billy Cringan, TheStatCat
3. John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. (Celtic player) Cringan, William, FitbaStats
5. Brown, Alan. Scotland – Championship Winning Teams 1900–1920, Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 22 June 2007
6. William Cringan at the Scottish Football Association
7. "SFL player Willie Cringan". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
8. Cringan, Robert (1918), Hamilton Academical Memory Bank
9. Statutory registers – Marriages – Search results, ScotlandsPeople
10. Association Football | The Inter-League Game, The Glasgow Herald, 24 February 1919

External links

• Scotland Appearances at londonhearts.com
• Image at TheCelticWiki