| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Fraser | ||
| Date of birth | 1903 (1903) | ||
| Place of birth | Cowpen, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Blyth Spartans | |||
| New Delaval Temperance | |||
| Cowpen Celtic | |||
| Royal Tank Corps | |||
| East Stirlingshire | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1926–1929 | Northampton Town | 17 | (4) |
| 1929 | Aldershot | 0 | (0) |
| 1929–1932 | Southampton | 56 | (11) |
| 1932–1933 | Fulham | 0 | (0) |
| 1933–1934 | Northampton Town | 3 | (1) |
| 1934 | Hartlepools United | 0 | (0) |
| 1934–???? | Salisbury City | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1956 | Walton & Hersham | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Fraser (born 1903, date of death unknown)[1] was an English professionalfootballer who played atinside forward forNorthampton Town andSouthampton in the 1920s and 1930s.
Fraser was born inCowpen, nearBlyth, Northumberland and played forBlyth Spartans as a junior. He then had a spell in the Army, with theRoyal Tank Corps before starting his professional career withNorthampton Town in November 1926.
He spent two seasons with Northampton Town in theThird Division South, making 17 league appearances generally on the right wing, scoring four goals as well as providing scoring chances forcentre forwardsErnie Cockle andHarry Loasby.
He signed forAldershot, then in theSouthern League, in May 1929 but before he made any first team appearances he was transferred toSecond DivisionSouthampton in June for a fee of £200.[2]
He made his "Saints" debut on 14 December 1929, replacingOswald Littler atinside right in a 1–1 draw atReading. Fraser made nine appearances in the No. 8 shirt, before being replaced byJerry Mackie in March.[3]
Inthe 1930–31 season, Fraser took over atcentre forward from the injuredWillie Haines after the first match of the season and during a run of thirteen games up front scored six goals beforeJohnny McIlwaine took over. Fraser then reverted to inside right before being replaced byLaurie Cumming for a few matches before Mackie returned in January, although Fraser played the last five games of the season.[4]
By the start ofthe following season Mackie had retired, and Fraser played at inside forward until Christmas before injury forced him to miss most of the rest of the season. During his absence, managerGeorge Kay tried eight players at No. 8, of which onlyFrank Osborne played more than four games.[5]
According to Holley & Chalk, Fraser "had considerable ability, (but) suffered acutely from nerves in front of crowds".[2] In July 1932, he was sold toFulham for a fee of £500[2] (together with fellow forwardsArthur Haddleton andBert Jepson) as the Saints were in serious financial difficulties and needed to raise funds.
He joined Fulham in July 1932, but was unable to break into the first team with long-servingJim Hammond hardly missing a match for seven years.
In June 1933, Fraser returned to Northampton Town for one last season, before returning to southern England where he joinedSalisbury City in 1934, becoming a player-coach in 1935. In 1956, he joinedWalton & Hersham as manager.[1]