Peter McWilliam – ‘Peter the Great’

Born: 22nd September 1878, Inveravon

Peter McWilliam was a silky left-half who played for Inverness Thistle for 2 years and although he never won anything while at the club he moved to Newcastle United in 1902. He went on to become a legend with the St. James Park club for whom he made 242 appearances and scored 12 goals. During his time at Newcastle he won the English First Division championship on three occasions (1904-05, 1905-06 and 1907-08), appeared in four FA Cup Finals (1905, 1906, 1908 and 1910) picking up a winners medal in 1910, and made 8 appearances for Scotland.

Peter’s playing career came to an end in 1911 when he was forced to retire with a knee ligament injury. In 1912 he became manager of Tottenham Hotspur for the first of his two tenures at the White Hart Lane helm. He brought the English Second Division championship to the club in 1920, which was followed up with a FA Cup success in 1921 and a runners-up spot in the First Division Championship in 1922. In 1926, due to a disagreement over salary problems, he left to become manager of Second Division Middlesborough. The club were promoted that season, relegated the next and then promoted again in the following season. When he left Middlesborough to become chief scout at Arsenal he had managed Middlesborough for five consecutive seasons in the top flight. In 1938 he was lured back to White Hart Lane where he remained until retiring in 1942 at the age of 64. On his retirement Peter returned to the North East living in Redcar, passing away in 1951. He was far and away the most successful player ever to have played in the red and black of Inverness Thistle.

Played For: Inverness Thistle, Newcastle United

Managed: Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesborough

Inverness Thistle Honours: None