William John Aitken (2 February 1894 – 9 August 1973) was a Scottish footballer. He was known for his trait of bouncing the ball on his whilst running along the touchline, and was normally known as Willie or Billy.

[edit] Playing career

Aitken played for Kirkintilloch, Queen's Park and Rangers before moving to England to play for Port Vale in the summer of 1919. He scored on his debut at inside-right in a 2-0 win at Aston Villa Reserves in a Central League match on 20 August 1919. After Vale were elected to the Football League in October 1919, the Vale were forced to pay £500 to Rangers for his and Peter Pursell services. He was in the cup winning sides of 1920, but was sold on to Newcastle United for £2,500 in May 1920, which was considered a bargain at the time. Here he began playing as an inside forward and although he only scored ten league goals in four seasons at the club, his unselfishness in attack and overall contribution to the team was greatly appreciated. In 1924 Aitken signed for Preston North End for £11,500. He then joied Chorley, Norwich City, Bideford Town.^[1] He spent the 1929-30 season with Juventus^[2], before eventually ended up playing football in France for AS Cannes, Stade Reims and FC Antibes. At Cannes he was part of the team that reached the Coupe de France final on 24 April 1932, which they won 1-0 over RC Roubaix.

[edit] Honours

with Port Vale

• Staffordshire Senior Cup winner: 1920
• North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup winner: 1920 (shared)

[edit] References