| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Silcock Gardiner | ||
| Date of birth | (1929-08-15)15 August 1929 | ||
| Place of birth | Larbert, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 5 January 2007(2007-01-05) (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Stirling, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Bo'ness United | |||
| 1951–1955 | Rangers | 25 | (16) |
| 1955–1958 | Leicester City | 69 | (48) |
| 1958–1959 | Reading | 8 | (2) |
| Sudbury Town | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Silcock Gardiner (15 August 1929 – 5 January 2007) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward for Rangers, Leicester City, Reading and Sudbury Town.
Born in Larbert, Gardiner started career in reserve football in Scotland with Rangers but got little opportunity to play first-team football with the likes of Willie Paton, Billy Simpson and the veteran Willie Thornton all in contention, although he had a strong scoring record when he was selected. He moved to England and signed for Leicester City for £4,000 under manager Dave Halliday.
He was a prolific goalscorer. In three seasons he scored 48 league goals in 69 games and was the leading goalscorer in the Second Division in the 1955–56 season. He lost his starting place in 1957 and was then playing reserve team football. In 1958 he signed for Reading, his time there being hampered by two serious injuries. He finished his career with Sudbury Town and later found employment as telephone exchange operator for British Telecom.
References
- "Willie Gardiner". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- Junior Scotland 1889 to 2019: The Players and Matches, Douglas Gorman, Tom McGouran; Lulu.com, 2019
- Willie Gardiner at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- Rangers player Gardiner, William Silcock, FitbaStats
- Chris Carra (1 October 2014). Swansea City's Greatest Games. Pitch Publishing. pp. 34–. ISBN 978-1-909626-96-6.
- "Division 2 1955-56". www.footballsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- "Willie Gardiner". www.foxestalk.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- "Willie Gardiner". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
| English Second Division top scorers | |
|---|---|
|
  | This biographical article related to association football in Scotland, about a forward born in the 1920s, is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 2007 deaths
- Rangers F.C. players
- Men's association football forwards
- Leicester City F.C. players
- Reading F.C. players
- 1929 births
- Sudbury Town F.C. players
- People from Larbert
- Footballers from Falkirk (council area)
- Scottish Football League players
- English Football League players
- Scottish men's footballers
- Scottish Junior Football Association players
- Scotland men's junior international footballers
- 20th-century Scottish sportsmen
- Scottish football forward, 1920s birth stubs