Willie Millar

Name: William Thomas Millar
Born: 25 October 1906, Ballymena
Died: December 1986, San Diego (USA)
Height: 5.09 ft
Weight: 11.10 st
Position: Inside/Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 2 Full Caps/1 Goal (1931-1932).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
South End Rangers		-	-	(Intermediate League)
Linfield	-	May-26	-	-	-	-
Liverpool	28/29	Aug-28	£1,500	3/ 2	-	-
Barrow	29/30-32/33	Jan-30	£300	103/66	1/2	-
Newport County	33/34	Jun-33	Free	7/ 1	-	2/1
Carlisle United	34/35	Jul-34	Free	33/ 9	-	1/ 2
Dalbeattie Star	-	c/s-35	-	-	-	-
Ballymena	35/36	Dec-35	-	4/ 1	-	-
Sligo Rovers	-	Aug-36	Free	-	-	-
Cork	-	May-37	Free	-	-	-
Drumcondra	-	Aug-38	Free	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£1,800		150/79	1/2	3/3

Biography:
Signed originally as a wing-half by Linfield, Billy Millar was selected as an emergency centre-forward and took to the role like a duck-to-water. So impressive was his form as a speedy and agile goal-getter that he earned the Blues a substantial £1,500 fee when he moved to Liverpool in 1928. Millar's Liverpool debut, against Bury at Anfield on the opening day of the 1928/29 campaign, brought a first minute goal and another in the second half as the Reds cruised to a 3-0 win. Amazingly he played just twice more for the club - in wins over Leicester and Newcastle - before his firstteam career ended after less than two months

Early in 1930 Millar made a cut-price move to Division Three North Barrow. After a 7-0 defeat by Rotherham on his debut, he managed six goals from fifteen games in his first season as the Ziggers finished bottom of the League and were forced to apply for re-election. Things began to turn round from then on, his 25 goals seeing the club finish in the security of 16th place in 1931. The following season he managed thirty goals from thirty games (a club record in League football) and earned the first of two caps for Ireland, thus becoming the only Barrow player ever to win full international honours.

Millar marked his Ireland debut with a goal in a 4-0 win over Wales at Windsor Park in December 1931. He retained his place for the opening Home Nations match of the 1932/33 season, lining out as centre-forward against Scotland at Windsor Park. A fine all-round performance from the Scots left Millar with only a few chances, though still he was "prominent" in attack and unlucky not to score when a shot was charged down by the 'keeper. In the end the the visitors cruised to an easy 4-0 win.

From then on Millar's career began to wind down. He managed just six strikes through the entire 1932/33 season, though he featured regularly for the reserves, scoring 22 times in 19 Lancashire Combination matches. He enjoyed few firstteam chances after joining Newport County in 1933, though he once again excelled for the reserves, tallying 23 goals in his only season for the Division Three South side. A move to Carlisle United saw him feature more regularly, though often on the right-wing.

After a brief spell in Scotland, Millar returned to Ireland in 1935 joining his hometown club, Ballymena. He finished his senior career with spells with several Free State League clubs.

LFCHistory.net Profile

Ireland Cap Details:
05-12-1931 Wales... H W 4-0 BC 1 Goal
12-09-1932 Scotland H L 0-4 BC

Summary: 2/1. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Additions and corrections by Martin O'Connor.