Club Condolences

COLERAINE FC extends its condolences to the family and friends of Sammy Wilson…

Sammy sadly passed away at his Dromore home on Sunday afternoon and played for the Bannsiders between 1968 to 1970, making 79 appearances and scoring 22 times.

Described as “a superstar centre-forward, pure class, strength and skill” who “scored goals for fun”, Sammy Wilson made an impressive leap from the Irish League to the international stage.

Sammy Wilson won Northern Ireland Youth caps and a B cap against France in 1960 before graduating to the full side in 1961. At the time he was playing for Glenavon, under the stewardship of former international Jimmy McAlinden, as a fast moving goal-scoring outside-right.

It was McAlinden who switched Wilson to centre-forward, as replacement for the legendary Jimmy Jones, and the success was immediate as he score d a hat-trick for Glenavon against Shamrock Rovers in the North-South Cup.

It was the press reports from this game at the Milltown Stadium that prompted former Ballymena United manager Alex McCrae to take Wilson to Scottish football with Falkirk in 1963. The move proved to be a spring-board for Wilson’s international career.

He won his second cap just a few months after moving to Falkirk, scoring in a 2-1 win over Scotland at Windsor Park. A month later he scored twice at Wembley as England ran out 8-3 winners. Jimmy Greaves scored four for England, but Wilson gave a good account of himself in his rousing tussles with Engla nd’s centre-half Jack Charlton.

The following year the Irish gave England the fright of their life. Trailing 4-0, a Wilson goal started a fight back with two goals from Jimmy McLaughlin seeing the game finished 4-3. Of Wilson’s goal Sir Alf Ramsey commented, “It was well put away.”

In 1967 Wilson played in the Scottish League Cup Final for Dundee, a game that ended in a 5-3 defeat by Celtic and the following year helped the Dees qualify for the semi-finals of the Fairs Cup, where they narrowly lost out to Leeds.

He returned to the Irish League with Bertie Peacock’s Coleraine in 1968. In a long and successful career Wilson also represented the Irish League on a number of occasions and picked up Irish League, Irish Cup, City Cup, Ulster Cup and Gold Cup Winners’ medals with Glenavon and added Top Four Cup, Blaxnit Cup and further Ulster Cup Winners’ medals with Coleraine.

Everyone at the club is saddened by Sammy’s passing and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

(Sammy is bottom row second from right in the picture).