William McCourty was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional footballer born in Morpeth

Morpeth, Northumberland

Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, who played in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for Birmingham

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

. McCourty, a former coal miner

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

 who played at left half

Wing half

In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...

, joined Birmingham in May 1909. He made his debut in the Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 on 13 September 1909, deputising for the injured Tommy Daykin

Thomas Daykin

Thomas Daykin was an English professional footballer who played for Sunderland and Birmingham in the Football League as a wing half.-References:...

 in a home game against Glossop

Glossop North End A.F.C.

Glossop North End A.F.C. are an English football club based in Glossop, Derbyshire. Former members of the Football League, they are currently in the North West Counties League and are members of the Derbyshire County Football Association. They play their home matches at Surrey Street, which has a...

 which finished as a 2–2 draw, and was never picked again, returning to non-league football

Non-league football

Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

the following year.