Name: William ReidBorn: Bangor
Position: Right-Half
Representative Honours: Ireland: 2 Amateur Caps (1923-1924), Junior.
Club Career:
Teams ........ Signed
Clifton (Bangor)
Belfast Celtic
Bangor ....... (Intermediate League)
Ards ........... 1923
Biography:
"Reid is a half-back of real quality. He is not a giant in stature, but is a burly and determined tackler. Fear does not enter his vocabulary, and as a worker he is one who gives his club a full ninety minutes of enthusiastic and determined effort. His capabilities do not rest with untiring endeavour to do his share for his club's success, as he has capable ideas of the needs of his forwards in front and does not hesitate to put them quickly on the offensive. In other words, he is a [...] player with both constructive and destructive qualifications."
So read an Ireland's Saturday Night profile of William Reid, a new signing for Ards as they embarked on their first season as a senior club in 1923/24. A postman by day, it was reckoned that the constant movement aided his condition and stamina. Previously with Belfast Celtic II, it was with hometown side, Bangor, that Reid first came to prominence. With the Seasiders he finished a runner-up in both the Intermediate League and Steel Cup during the 1922/23 season and also claimed a Junior Cap in a 4-0 defeat by Scotland in Dundee where, despite the scoreline, he did not disgrace himself.
Reid played in Ards' first "senior" league game, a 2-1 win away to Barn on 25th August 1923. The team made a steady if unspectacular start to life at the highest level and Reid became the first Ards player to gain an Amateur cap when selected for Ireland's trip to Crystal Palace for a match against England that November. He retained his place for the following year's return fixture at Solitude. Seldom among the goals, one of the highlights of Reid's time at Castlereagh Park was a brace in a 7-0 victory over a much-fancied Belfast Celtic in February 1924.
Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
10-11-1923 England A L 0-3
08-11-1924 England H L 2-3
Summary: 2/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 2.
ISN profile, including picture, kindly forwarded by Jim Murphy.
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