Players - Billy Dunlop

Billy Dunlop
Birthdate: 11 August 1874
Birthplace: Hurlford, Scotland
Date of death: 28 November 1941
Other clubs: Hurlford, Kilmarnock, Abercorn (1893-95)
Signed from: Abercorn
Signed for LFC: £35, 11.10.1894
International debut: 07.04.1906 vs. England
International caps: 1/0
Liverpool debut: 25.03.1895
Last appearance: 17.04.1909
Debut goal: 16.02.1898
Last goal: 11.03.1905
Contract expiry: January 1910
Win ratio: 47.93% W:174 D:69 L:120
Honours: League Championship 1900/01, 1905/06; Second Division 1895/96, 1904/05
League games / goals: 325 / 2
Total games / goals: 363 / 3

Player Profile

Scottish-born left-back Dunlop first appeared in Liverpool's first team towards the end of the 1894/95 season and stayed at the club for no less than 15 years! Dunlop was a regular in the following season but was out of action with an ankle injury from late October to the end of February, but despite his absence Liverpool were promoted back to the First Division. Tom Wilkie and Archie Goldie, the latter incidentally born in the same suburb of Kilmarnock as Dunlop, proved to be a sound full-back pair, but Dunlop finally reclaimed his first-team place from Wilkie for the last seven matches of the 1896/97 season and became a regular in the side for the next decade and a prominent member of the squad who won Liverpool's first-ever first division title in 1901, a feat repeated five years later. In July 1911 he was appointed assistant trainer at Sunderland. Dunlop was the team's captain from 1899-1900.

According to Liverpool's match programme from 17 September 1904: "Dunlop plays a characteristic full-back game, and the familiar cry of on the Anfield ground 'Boot it, Dunlop' is fairly suggestive of his method of defence. There can be no two opinions of his ability to kick the ball from almost any position. Always keen and watchful on the field, he betrays his over-anxiety to repel the invader by his terrific lunges, and on his day, there is no more brilliant player than this same Dunlop. A better servant no club ever possessed, and though we may occasionally differ from him as to the methods he employs on the field, on one point we must all agree, that for downright single-mindedness of purpose Dunlop's tactics have never been questioned."
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 325 36 0 0 2 363
1894-1895 4 0 0 0 1 5
1895-1896 13 0 0 0 0 13
1896-1897 5 2 0 0 0 7
1897-1898 20 5 0 0 0 25
1898-1899 33 6 0 0 0 39
1899-1900 34 4 0 0 0 38
1900-1901 33 2 0 0 0 35
1901-1902 33 3 0 0 0 36
1902-1903 28 1 0 0 0 29
1903-1904 21 1 0 0 0 22
1904-1905 32 2 0 0 0 34
1905-1906 31 5 0 0 1 37
1906-1907 23 4 0 0 0 27
1907-1908 2 0 0 0 0 2
1908-1909 13 1 0 0 0 14
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
21 1890 Sunderland
20 1800 Blackburn Rovers
19 1710 Bury
18 1620 Everton
18 1620 Sheffield Wednesday
17 1530 Nottingham Forest
17 1530 Aston Villa
17 1530 Sheffield United
17 1530 Notts County
16 1440 Derby
16 1440 Stoke City
16 1440 WBA
15 1350 Newcastle United
14 1260 Bolton Wanderers
13 1170 Wolves
12 1080 Manchester City
12 1080 Preston North End
9 810 Birmingham City
7 630 Burnley
7 630 Middlesbrough
7 630 Manchester United
7 630 Grimsby Town
4 360 Glossop North End
4 360 Port Vale
3 270 Bradford City
3 270 Arsenal
3 270 Leicester City
3 270 Bristol City
2 180 Blackpool
2 180 Southampton
2 180 Lincoln City
2 180 Barnsley
2 180 Chesterfield
2 180 Doncaster Rovers
2 180 Burton Swifts
2 180 Burton Wanderers
2 180 Burton United
2 180 Gainsborough Trinity
1 90 Crewe
1 90 Loughborough
1 90 Hucknall St Johns
1 90 Corinthians
1 90 Brentford
1 90 West Ham United
1 90 Chelsea
1 90 Oldham Athletic
Total Venue
178 Away
178 Home
7 Neutral
Total Competition
325 League
36 FA Cup
1 Test Match
1 Sheriff of London Charity Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
345 165 68 112 47.8% Tom Watson
13 9 0 4 69.2% John McKenna
5 0 1 4 0% William Edward Barclay
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 2 1 0 0 0 3
1894-1895 0 0 0 0 0 0
1895-1896 0 0 0 0 0 0
1896-1897 0 0 0 0 0 0
1897-1898 0 1 0 0 0 1
1898-1899 0 0 0 0 0 0
1899-1900 0 0 0 0 0 0
1900-1901 0 0 0 0 0 0
1901-1902 0 0 0 0 0 0
1902-1903 0 0 0 0 0 0
1903-1904 1 0 0 0 0 1
1904-1905 1 0 0 0 0 1
1905-1906 0 0 0 0 0 0
1906-1907 0 0 0 0 0 0
1907-1908 0 0 0 0 0 0
1908-1909 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Total Competition
2 League
1 FA Cup
Total Goal origin
3 Open play
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 25.03.1895 Sunderland Anfield League
50 16.04.1898 Aston Villa Anfield League
100 04.11.1899 Sheffield United Anfield League
150 16.02.1901 Bolton Wanderers Burnden Park League
200 13.09.1902 Sunderland Roker Park League
250 01.09.1904 Burton United Anfield League
300 26.12.1905 Stoke Victoria Ground League
350 28.11.1908 Manchester City Anfield League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 0 16.02.1898 Newton Heath Anfield FA Cup
Related Articles
One-Cap Wonders!

Owen Collins looks at the players who have gained international recognition without necessarily making the grade at the club but particularly one name on this list is a great surprise given his success.

Billy Dunlop still going strong

From the Sunderland Daily Echo on 15 April 1941.

The death of Billy Dunlop

From the Sunderland Daily Echo on 1 December 1941.

Billy the masseur

The Sunderland Daily Echo on 6 January, 1937.

Related Quotes

"There are some men who perform brilliantly in their various positions on the field, but there was never one who year in, year out has given such wholehearted service as Dunlop to Liverpool."

From the club programme on Billy Dunlop

Scrapbook
Biography in Liverpool match programme on 17 September 1904
Biography in Liverpool match programme on 17 September 1904