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William Houliston (4 April 1921 – 10 February 1999) was a Scottish footballer who played for Crichton, Queen of the South, Berwick Rangers, Third Lanark and the Scotland national team.
Aged 17, working as a nurse at the Crichton Royal Hospital, Houliston started playing again. It was while playing for the Crichton team that he moved from defence to attack, playing at either inside or centre forward."The Queens" by Iain McCartney, page 102, Creedon Publications, 2004
In 1941 Houliston was called up for national service. He joined RAF Coastal Command as a wireless operator. In his four years' service, Houliston was attached to 16 different stations where he represented each at football. Playing in the Arbroath area, the local side offered to sign him. On leave back in Dumfries, Houliston declined the offer when taking the offer of a trial game for Queen of the South reserves.
Nicknamed "Basher" from his 'afraid of no one' attitude, Houliston was the idol of Palmerston Park in the late 1940s. His all-action style made him a handful for defences everywhere. In early 1948, Celtic offered a big fee to take him to Parkhead but Houliston was happy to stay with Queens.
Houliston played a major part in Queens' run to the semi-final of the 1949–50 Scottish Cup in which Aberdeen were overcome in a replay, before a narrow defeat to Rangers at Hampden Park, again after a replay.
During Houliston's time as a Queen of the South player they spent only one season out of the top division of Scottish football; that was 1950–51 when they were promoted straight back to the top flight as B Division champions. The success of that season was enhanced by a run to the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup. League History - Queen of the South FC - Doonhamers MAD After a serious ankle injury sustained while on tour with Scotland, Houliston was never the same player again. He was released by Queen of the South in July 1952, with a tally of 60 league goals in 120 league games.
On 17 November 1948, Houliston made his full international debut for Scotland against Ireland at Hampden Park. The opposition were 2–0 up inside five minutes; 22 minutes later Houliston met the ball on the turn 10 yards from the goal and rifled the ball into the Irish net. A through pass to Jimmy Mason brought the equaliser. For the next goal Houliston passed the ball wide to Willie Waddell and kept moving goalwards, then met the winger's cross with a bullet header to complete the comeback. Five months later Houliston played against England at Wembley. His robust style of play discomforted the English defenders, attracting boos from the home fans and post-match criticism from the local press. Scotland returned north with a 3–1 win. Houliston's last full cap was at Hampden in the 2–0 win over France at the end of April 1949.
Scotland toured the USA in the summer of 1949, with the matches not being considered official internationals. Houliston netted twice in St Louis in a 6–0 win against the All Stars XI, and another goal followed against the American Soccer League XI in New York City. Mon 30 May 1949 American Soccer League 1 Scotland 4, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 21 February 2022 However a serious ankle injury brought Houlston's involvement in the tour to a premature end; he journeyed home on the without his teammates to have an operation. In all, he collected nine caps at different levels and never played in a losing Scotland side; he is the only serving Queen of the South player to have been selected for full international duty. Scotland Football Records Clubs played for Queen of the South, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 21 February 2022
| 1949 British Home Championship |
| 1949 British Home Championship |
| Friendly match |
Houliston became a director at Queen of the South in 1957 and was later chairman for several years, winning promotion to Division One with the early 1960s team of player manager George Farm, Neil Martin, Ernie Hannigan and the now veteran Jim Patterson.
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