Billy McCandless

Billy McCandless (1894 – 18 July, 1955) was an Irish international football player. McCandless normally played at left-back.

McCandless was born in Belfast, and started his career with non-league sides Ligoniel and Barn before joining Linfield in 1914. He stayed with the Blues for 6 years, helping them to Irish Cup success in 1916 and 1919 before joining Rangers in 1920 for £2,500. At Ibrox he added 8 League titles to his honours collection and became an established international player, earning 9 full caps.

In 1930, by then a veteran, McCandless was given the opportunity to move into football management by Ballymena United, where he was appointed player-manager. He returned to Scotland in 1933 to take charge of Dundee before moving to Newport County in 1937, where he helped them to promotion to Division 2 in 1939. He was appointed Cardiff City manager in 1946 before moving to their South Wales rivals Swansea City in September 1947. He died in Swansea, while still the club's manager.