Willie Carlin made 107 appearances for United, scoring 24 goals, in his 3 year spell here between 1964 and 1967. He was brought in as part of the forward line rebuild after the sale of Hughie McIlmoyle to Wolves and struck up a particularly good partnership with Frank Large. His small stature (he was only 5ft 4" tall) was usually the first thing commented upon, but his footballing skill soon shone to the fore. An excellent play maker in the attacking half of the field, he had the ability to create opportunities from virtually nothing for his striking partners.

Willie was born in Liverpool on 6th October 1940 and won England caps at both Schoolboy and Youth level. He was signed on amateur terms by Liverpool but found it difficult to make a real impact at Anfield as the coaching staff remained convinced that his size would be too much of a disadvantage in the professional world. He battled away behind the scenes until the summer of 1962 when Halifax Town captured his signature. Two years as a first team regular at The Shay helped Willie to enhance his reputation and it was no surprise when interest in him led to a transfer. Carlisle had just gained promotion to Division Three and Alan Ashman saw no reason as to why his team could not take things further. The inevitable sale of star player Hugh McIlmoyle to Wolves in October 1964 had left him with £30,000 to play with, and he immediately broke the clubs transfer record when he signed Willie from Halifax at the end of that same month. '£10,000 well spent, just wait and see,' was all Ashman had to say on the matter.

He made his debut on the 27th October 1964 in a 2-1 home win against Walsall, one particular piece of skill opening the way for Kirkup to notch the winner. Willie had arrived. A slight blip in an otherwise wonderful first season with the club came along in November, in a deeply embarrassing 1st Round defeat to non league Crook Town in the FA Cup. The 1-0 final scoreline could actually have been much worse, as the Division Three high fliers were brought down to earth with a bump. Willie laid his own ghosts from that game to rest just two weeks later when he scored his first goal for the club, a fine strike which opened the scoring in a 4-0 demolition of relegation haunted Barnsley. He scored 5 goals in the 29 appearances he made for us that season, but created so many more. His addition to the squad is regarded, and rightly so in my opinion, as one of the key factors in the charge to United's first ever League Championship win that year. His run in the team and the effect it had on our attacking style were no coincidence as he became instrumental in breaking down opposing defences with his trickery. It was very fitting that 'Our Willie' picked up a Champions medal with the club.

The following 1965/66 season was a nightmare for Willie, as a broken leg limited him to only 29 more appearances as United settled in to Division Two football. He played only 4 games leading up to Christmas, but played a crucial part in the run in to the end of the season that helped to steady a rocky ship and steer us away from the relegation zone to a 14th place finish. He scored a further 6 goals which included a superb strike in a thrilling FA Cup second round replay against Shrewsbury played at Deepdale. We lost that one 4-3, but only after a second half rally that saw us nearly turn a 3-1 half time scoreline on its head, thanks to the magnificent individual skill of Willie Carlin, as the Shrews found it increasingly difficult to contain him.

1966/67 saw Carlin make 40 appearances and score 13 goals as Carlisle United made the footballing world sit up and watch. The little known Cumbrian outfit pushed Wolves and Coventry all the way for a promotion spot, but points dropped to both these teams through the course of the season would prove vital in the final shake up. A bizarre statistic thrown up from this particular season is the one that follows players around every now and then. Never-the-less, it was indeed a fact that in every League game in which Carlin scored a goal during 66/67, Carlisle United ended up winning it. Unfortunately, a knee injury meant that Carlin missed the last 10 games of the season and United were robbed of their most creative player, and their talisman, at the most important stage of the year.

Carlin played 9 more games of the 1967/68 season, making his final appearance on the 16th September 1967 in a 3-2 away win at Bolton. The chance of First Division football with Sheffield United was an opportunity not to miss, and the £40,000 that The Blades were willing to pay for him was an offer the club could not ignore. It was with some amount of regret that the news of his departure was met by United fans, but no-one could deny that he deserved to play at the highest level.

One year later he moved to Derby County to play for Brian Clough in a £63,000 deal, and after two excellent years at the Baseball Ground he found himself on the move again, this time joining Leicester City. This was followed by a spell with Notts County before he ended his playing days at Cardiff City in the summer of 1974, aged 34 years old. He moved abroad to run a bar with his family, no doubt with a football based theme.

Willie Carlin was, without doubt, one of the most exciting attacking players this club has seen. His small size, speed of thought and quickness of feet made him an absolute nightmare to mark, and he used these attributes to his advantage. Many of the goals scored by the team during his time here were down to the artistry of 'Our Willie,' and many fans will never forget him because of it. A true footballing magician, Willie Carlin is rightly included in a list of Blue Heroes.