Sammy Wilson

Described as “a superstar centre-forward, pure class, strength and skill” who “scored goals for fun”, Sammy Wilson made an impressive leap from the Irish League to the international stage…

Name: Samuel J. Wilson
Born: c.1937, Dromore, Co. Down

Died: 30 October 2022, Dromore, Co. Down
Height: 5.08 ft
Weight: 11.03 st
Position: Outside-Right/Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 12 Full Caps / 7 Goals (1961-1967), 1 ‘B’ Cap (1960), Youth; Irish League: 11 Caps / 1 Goal (1958-1969).
Club Honours: (with Glenavon) Irish League Champion 1956/57, 1959/60; Irish Cup Winner 1956/57, 1958/59, 1960/61; City Cup Winner; Gold Cup Winner; Ulster Cup Winner; North-South Cup Winner 1962/63; (with Dundee) Scottish League Cup Runner-Up 1967/68; (with Coleraine) Ulster Cup Winner, Top-Four Cup Winner 1968/69.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Crusaders	-	-	Amateur	0(0)/ 0	-	-	-	-
Glenavon	55/56-62/63	-	-	-	-	-	4(0)/1	-
Falkirk	63/64-64/65	c/s-63	-	60(0)/28	7(0)/3	11(0)/4	-	7(0)/7
Dundee	65/66-67/68	c/s-65	-	49(1)/18	2(0)/1	9(0)/3	8(0)/3	-
Coleraine	-	1968	-	-	-	-	6(0)/1	-
TOTALS	-	£-		109(1)/46	9(0)/4	20(0)/7	18(0)/5	-

Biography:
Sammy Wilson won Northern Ireland Youth caps and a B cap against France in 1960 before graduating to the full side in 1961. At the time he was playing for Glenavon, under the stewardship of former international Jimmy McAlinden, as a fast moving goal-scoring outside-right. It was McAlinden who switched Wilson to centre-forward, as replacement for the legendary Jimmy Jones, and the success was immediate as he scored a hat-trick for Glenavon against Shamrock Rovers in the North-South Cup.

It was the press reports from this game at the Milltown Stadium that prompted former Ballymena United manager Alex McCrae to take Wilson to Scottish football with Falkirk in 1963. The move proved to be a spring-board for Wilson’s international career. He won his second cap just a few months after moving to Falkirk, scoring in a 2-1 win over Scotland at Windsor Park. A month later he scored twice at Wembley as England ran out 8-3 winners. Jimmy Greaves scored four for England, but Wilson gave a good account of himself in his rousing tussles with England’s centre-half Jack Charlton.

The following year the Irish gave England the fright of their life. Trailing 4-0, a Wilson goal started a fight back with two goals from Jimmy McLaughlin seeing the game finished 4-3. Of Wilson’s goal Sir Alf Ramsey commented, “It was well put away.”

In 1967 Wilson played in the Scottish League Cup Final for Dundee, a game that ended in a 5-3 defeat by Celtic and the following year helped the Dees qualify for the semi-finals of the Fairs Cup, where they narrowly lost out to Leeds. He returned to the Irish League with Bertie Peacock’s Coleraine in 1968. In a long and successful career Wilson also represented the Irish League on a number of occasions and picked up Irish League, Irish Cup, City Cup, Ulster Cup and Gold Cup Winners’ medals with Glenavon and added Top Four Cup and further Ulster Cup Winners' medals with Coleraine. In the 1959 Irish Cup Final he scored Glenavon’s first in a 2-0 replay win over Ballymena United.

On retiring from playing in the early 1970s Wilson settled in his native Dromore where he became a farmer, auctioneer and estate agent. He remained a regular visitor to Mourneview and is still fondly remembered at Falkirk, where his picture adorns the wall of the club's International Lounge. He passed away in 2022.

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
07-10-1961 Scotland.... H L 1-6 BC
12-10-1963 Scotland.... H W 2-1 BC 1 Goal
30-10-1963 Spain....... H L 0-1 ENC
20-11-1963 England..... A L 3-8 BC 2 Goals
15-04-1964 Wales....... A W 3-2 BC 1 Goal
29-04-1964 Uruguay..... H W 3-0 FR 1 Goal
03-10-1964 England..... H L 3-4 BC 1 Goal
14-10-1964 Switzerland. H W 1-0 WCQ
30-03-1966 Wales....... A W 4-1 BC 1 Goal
07-05-1966 West Germany H L 0-2 FR
16-11-1966 Scotland.... A L 1-2 ECQ
22-11-1967 England..... A L 0-2 ECQ

Summary: 12/7. Won 5, Drew 0, Lost 7.

Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
16-03-1960 France...... A L 0-5 FR

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

With thanks to John Meffen (Falkirk FC Historian)

12th October 1963. Northern Ireland centre forward Sammy Wilson scoring the winning goal against Scotland, at Windsor Park.