Walter Galbraith

Who was Walter Galbraith?

Walter Galbraith was a Scottish association football player and manager. He played as a defender for Queen's Park, Clyde, New Brighton and Grimsby Town. He then managed Accrington Stanley, Bradford Park Avenue, New Brighton, Tranmere Rovers, Hibernian, Stockport County and Berwick Rangers.

Like most players of his generation, Galbraith's league career was delayed by the Second World War, which meant that league football in both England and Scotland was not held from 1939 until the start of the 1946–47 season. Galbraith played for Clyde for two seasons before moving to Merseyside club New Brighton, for who he made over 100 league appearances in three seasons. He then moved to Grimsby Town, where he stayed for two seasons.

Galbraith was then appointed as player-manager of Accrington Stanley in 1953, making 21 league appearances in the 1953–1954 season before ending his playing career. As manager, Galbraith took Accrington to their highest ever finishing position in the Football League, as they narrowly missed out on promotion to Division Two. He once selected a team of eleven Scots for Accrington in a Football League match, and fans joked that players wouldn't be selected unless they were Scottish. Galbraith resigned in August 1958 after the club's directors advised him that they would be cutting his budget for players.