Bill Paterson

Who is Bill Paterson?

William "Bill" A. K. Paterson is a former Scottish football defender.

Paterson had originally started his football career in the Scottish Highland Football League with Inverness Caledonian prior to being called up for National Service in England. He was playing for Midland League club Ransome and Marles based in Newark where he was picked up by Doncaster Rovers in 1950. After five successful seasons with the club, he left to sign for Newcastle United for £22,250 plus that Newcastle would play Rovers with the proceeds adding to the transfer deal.

He had a relatively unsuccessful three years on Tyneside and so returned to Scotland to join Rangers for £3,500. His debut came on the 13 August 1958 in a 2-1 home league win against Partick Thistle. That was the first of three appearances that he would make that entire season.

Overall Paterson did go on to make 116 top team appearances for the club and won two League championships. He also claimed a Scottish Cup, a Scottish League Cup, a Charity Cup winners medal and was a part of the Rangers side that lost to Fiorentina in the 1961 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final final.

He left Ibrox in 1962 and joined Greenock Morton but never made a single league appearance for the club. He later joined Southern League, Cheltenham Town, followed by a spell in the 1964/65 season as Player/Manager with his first professional club, Inverness Caledonian, then a Highland League club, now a successful Scottish Premier League club.