William McKie was one of 10 wrestlers from the Olympic Amateur Wrestling Club of Walworth to participate in the wrestling events of the 1908 Olympics. A relative newcomer to the sport, he was noted to have only started out in the year of his participation. This would prove to not put him at much of a disadvantage, however, as McKie managed to win the bronze medal in the featherweight class of the freestyle event after he defeated William Tagg of the Apollo Amateur Wrestling Club in the bronze medal match, after losing to eventual gold medallist George Dole of the United States.
McKie was born to a Scottish father who worked as a farrier; his mother was a native of Kent. Outside of sports, McKie was a chemist’s assistant and warehouseman for most of his working life. He was married and had one daughter.
