William J. Abernethy (1929 – 21 October 1980) was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Cork senior team.
Abernethy made his first appearance for the team during the 1951-52 National Hurling League and was a sometimes regular member of the starting fifteen until he left the panel after the 1952 championship.
He was an unused some for Cork's opening three championship games but was included on the starting fifteen for the All-Ireland showdown with Dublin.
In spite of only leading by three points at half-time Cork won by 2-14 to 0-7 and Abernethy picked up an All-Ireland medal.
[citation needed] Partial Reference: Cork GAA website Inter-County SHC Results and Teams.