| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Norman McCourt Uprichard | ||
| Date of birth | (1928-04-20)20 April 1928 | ||
| Place of birth | Lurgan, Northern Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 31 January 2011(2011-01-31) (aged 82) | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Glenavon | |||
| Distillery | |||
| 1948–1949 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 1949–1952 | Swindon Town | 73 | (0) |
| 1952–1959 | Portsmouth | 182 | (0) |
| 1959–1960 | Southend United | 12 | (0) |
| Hastings United | |||
| Ramsgate Athletic | |||
| International career | |||
| 1951–1958 | Northern Ireland | 18 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Norman McCourt Uprichard (20 April 1928 – 31 January 2011[2]) was afootball player forArsenal,Portsmouth,Swindon Town andNorthern Ireland.[3]
Uprichard was born inLurgan, Northern Ireland, and as a teenager played both soccer andGaelic football. He won a district minor league medal with St. Peter's GAC, but was subsequently banned by theGAA and told he would not receive his medal because he had signed forGlenavon. The GAA's 'rule 27' prohibited adult members at the time from playing or watching so-called foreign games. Uprichard was finally awarded his medal in 2004.[4]
Uprichard played in goal for Glenavon and later forDistillery before signing forArsenal in 1948 for £1,500. He never played an Arsenal first-team game, withTed Platt andGeorge Swindin being higher in the pecking order. He was transferred toSwindon Town in November 1949, later becoming the first choice goalkeeper.[5]
The1952–53 season was his last at Swindon before his transfer toPortsmouth in November 1952.
Uprichard wasEddie Lever's first signing as Pompey manager.[6] He was later followed byDerek Dougan from Distillery. Uprichard played nearly 200 first-team games for Portsmouth in seven seasons. He later played forSouthend United,Hastings United andRamsgate Athletic.
Uprichard was awarded 18 senior international caps forNorthern Ireland, the first coming againstScotland in 1951. He played in the1958 World Cup Finals inSweden alongsideBilly Bingham,Jimmy McIlroy andDanny Blanchflower. Despite sustaining a broken hand and an ankle injury, he kept theCzechoslovakia attack at bay in a play-off win which secured Northern Ireland a quarter-final berth.[7]
His final game for Northern Ireland was, like his first, against Scotland, in November 1958.Norman died on Monday 31 January 2011 after a long illness.
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