Background
McWilliam was born 21 September 1879 in Argyle Street, Inverness. His father was a grocer"s porter and the family had previously moved to Inverness from Forgue, Aberdeenshire.
McWilliam was born 21 September 1879 in Argyle Street, Inverness. His father was a grocer"s porter and the family had previously moved to Inverness from Forgue, Aberdeenshire.
He went on to manage both Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough. The fourth child of six to Peter McWilliam (1851-188?) and Jane Neish (1852–1885). They moved to this locality shortly afterwards and had four children.
McWilliam died 1 October 1951 in Redcar and is buried in the nearby Kirkleatham cemetery.
Peter McWilliam started his playing career at Inverness Thistle and remained with them for two years before starting a very successful period at Newcastle United between 1902 and 1911. He played 241 games, scoring 12 goals from the left half position.
He was also capped eight times by the Scotland. The football world knew him as "Peter the Great"{see "Scotland"s Greatest Games" by David Potter page 41}, and he was hugely popular with the Geordie fans.
His playing career came to an end following an injury sustained in an international match against Wales in March 1911.
He managed both Tottenham Hotspur during two spells between which he was manager at Middlesbrough. In his first spell at Tottenham which started in December 1912 he managed the team during one of its most successful periods. In 1927 he left Spurs to manage Middlesbrough having been enticed by an offer of a £1500 salary per annum.
Although he enjoyed some success at the club over five seasons he never gained the full popularity of the fans.
He returned to London briefly as a chief scout for Arsenal, having declined their offer to manage them, before once again managing Tottenham in 1938, during which time he promoted many younger players to the first team from the ‘nursery side’ at Northfleet, including Bill Nicholson. The intervention of the war effectively brought his managerial career to an end and he retired in 1942.