|
|
|
Willie Summers was a great servant to
Saints in the 1920's. He signed for Saints in May 1921 from
Airdrieonians, having previously played for Burnbank Athletic(then one of the
countries top junior teams and his home town team having been born in Burnbank
on 14/071893). He also had a spell on loan to
Edinburgh club, St.Bernards just after the first World War. He was a centre half
and made his Saints debut at Love Street on the 20th August 1921 against Queens
Park. Saints winning 5-0! He went on to become a regular in the
Saints defence over the next few seasons. Season 1922-23 saw him take over the
captains arm band at Love Street and he led the team with consistant displays. Over the next couple of seasons he
continued to control the Saints defence and shared the captaincy with goal
keeper Jock Bradford. It was in 1926 that he played one of his
best matches for Saints when they lined up against Rangers at Celtic Park in the
Scottish Cup semi-final. Willie controlled the match with his usual composed
tenacity and provided the platform for a 1-0 victory. This was to lead onto him
winning a Scottish Cup medal when Saints defeated Celtic 2-0 in the final. This
was the first Saints team to win the trophy! The following week, Willie was to gain
the International cap he deserved when he played at Centre half in a 1-0 victory
over England at Old Trafford on 17/04/1926 . 1926-27 was to be a bittersweet season
for Willie. The club honoured him with a benefit match
against an international select(a 2-2 draw) and in the league campaign he
started in his usual solid form inspiring Saints to a 3-1 victory over Celtic
when he kept the great Jimmy McGrory at bay throughout the match. Shortly after
this he was chosen to play for Scotland against Wales. Unfortunately a serious
knee injury picked up two days later was to keep him out of action for four
months. As a mark of his worth to Saints, in his absence the form of the side
was erratic and they suffered a few heavy defeats including a 6-0 defeat against
Rangers to end the defence of the Scottish Cup. The start of season 27/28 was business
as usual with Willie at the heart of Saints defence, with a match against Raith
Rovers standing out. 3-2 down at half time Willie took control of the match and
led his team to a 4-3 victory, in what was to be his last game for Saints. A few
days later he was to join Bradford City, where he played his part in winning the
Division Three North title in 1929. After Bradford he played for Newport County
with whom he continued playing until he retired in his late thirties! | ||||||||||||
