The Lambies were the sons of a Fancy Dress Manufacturer, originally from Newmilns, and a Riccarton mother, so both Ayrshire. Each was one of six children. At eighteen he was working as a Manufacturer's Clerk and from sixteen had already been turning out, a goal-scoring second-eleven, centre- cum left-sided forward, for what was by then the Second Hampden club, becoming as he matured an integral part of the rebuilding of the team after the dip of the late-1880s. He was not in the eleven that would in 1890 win the Scottish Cup for the first time in four years. He would be in the team that would lose the final in 1892 but retake the trophy in 1893 and in the meantime had won the first of nine caps. He would win his second a week after the cup victory.

Queen's Park were at that time still playing outwith the League so direct comparison with other Scottish forwards is difficult but he was clearly very highly thought-of. He would be a starter in the four internationals against England from 1894, scoring in two of them. Once Anglo-Scots were admitted to the team in 1896 he would be the only amateur still selected against England in 1897, in fact from the left-wing with Tommy Hyslop inside him captaining the team to a 1-2 away victory.

It was to be his last international. He gave up playing for the first team the next season and retired from paying altogether the following one, although he was only twenty-seven. By then he was working as a Muslin Salesman and would go on to open his own muslin-manufacturung business. Meanwhile he had also married, in 1905, to Glasgow-girl, Anne Morrison. They would have three children, a daughter and two sons and settle in Pollokshields, in a house where both would live out the rest of their lives. Willie would die there in 1936 and Annie in 1938, he at the age of sixtry-three and she at sixty.