William Tait

William Tait (1863 – after 1890) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward. After playing for Glasgow Parkside, Glasgow Pilgrims and Third Lanark, he moved to England in 1887 to play for Newton Heath, the club that would later become Manchester United. The club had not yet entered league football, but Tait made 10 appearances in friendlies during the 1886–87 season, scoring two goals. He made a further 22 appearances in 1887–88, scoring 15 goals. His final appearance came on 3 March 1888 against Blackburn Olympic

Tait returned to Newton Heath, having already appeared for them in a friendly against Blackburn Rovers on 8 September, and made the first appearance of his second spell there in a Combination match at home to Leek on 20 October. His first goal came in the return fixture two weeks later, and he went on to score a total of four goals in 10 appearances before the Combination season was ended prematurely. He also played in all four matches as the team went on to win the Manchester and District Challenge Cup. He began the 1889–90 season as the team's starting outside right, but made just five appearances in the newly formed Football Alliance and one in the Lancashire Senior Cup before moving to West Manchester in November 1889. By February 1890, he had moved on to Ardwick (the club that would become Manchester City), with whom he played against Newton Heath on 1 February 1890.