Billy Grassam

William Grassam (20 November 1878 – 1943) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward.

Billy Grassam
Grassam while with West Ham United in 1903.
Personal information
Full name William Grassam[1]
Date of birth (1878-11-20)20 November 1878[1]
Place of birth Larbert, Scotland[1]
Date of death 1943 (aged 64–65)
Place of death Erie County, New York, United States[2]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[3]
Playing position(s) Inside right
Youth career
Redcliffe Thistle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1897–1899 Maryhill
1899–1900 Burslem Port Vale 31 (5)
1900–1903 West Ham United 78 (41)
1903 Celtic 2 (0)
1903–1905 Manchester United 29 (13)
1905 Leyton
1905–1909 West Ham United 91 (24)
1909–1910 Brentford 4 (0)
Total 235 (83)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Grassam played for Scottish Junior Football Association sides Redcliffe Thistle and Maryhill before joining English side Burslem Port Vale in July 1899.[1] He scored three goals in the opening five Second Division fixtures of the 1899–1900 campaign, and finished the season with ten goals in 41 games.[1] In the summer of 1900 he moved on to West Ham United of the Southern League.[1] On 1 September 1900, he became the first West Ham player to score a hat-trick, when he scored four goals on his debut against Gravesend United.[4] The club finished sixth in 1900–01. He finished as the club's joint-top scorer (with George Ratcliffe) in 1901–02 with 10 goals. After West Ham finished tenth in 1902–03, Grassam returned to Scotland with Celtic.[5][6]

In September 1903, he went back to England to join Manchester United and scored 11 goals in 23 games in his first season with the club, becoming joint-top scorer in the league (with Billy Griffiths and Tommy Arkesden). However, he fell out of favour the following season, contributing just two goals in six league games, before moving on to Leyton in July 1905.[3] He rejoined West Ham later that year, where he built up a solid partnership with Harry Stapley. The Boleyn Ground outfit finished 11th in 1905–06, 5th in 1906–07, 10th in 1907–08, 17th in 1908–09, and 9th in 1909–10. Having lost his first-team place to Danny Shea, Grassam moved on to league rivals Brentford in 1910.[7] He was the second-highest goal scorer of the period for the "Hammers" behind Shea, before the club joined the Football League in 1919.

Statistics
Club Season Division League National Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Burslem Port Vale 1899–1900[8] Second Division 31541356
West Ham United 1900–01[4] Southern First Division 2012332315
1901–02[4] Southern First Division 2910103010
1902–03[4] Southern First Division 2919103019
Total 7841538344
Celtic 1903–04[5] Scottish First Division 20—20
Manchester United 1903–04[3] Second Division 2311512812
1904–05[3] Second Division 623092
Total 2913813714
West Ham United 1905–06[4] Southern First Division 14300143
1906–07[4] Southern First Division 3710203910
1907–08[4] Southern First Division 32920349
1908–09[4] Southern First Division 821092
West Ham United total 9124509624
Brentford 1909–10[7] Southern First Division 40—40
Career total 2358322525788

References
  1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 116. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. "William Grassam". Find a Grave. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. "WILLIAM GRASSAM". mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  4. "William Grassam". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  5. "Celtic Player William Grassam Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  6. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
  7. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 360. ISBN 0951526200.
  8. Billy Grassam at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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