William Emerson (16 December 1891 – 19 January 1961) was an Irish football player, who played as a midfielder for Burnley and Glentoran.

Emerson made his debut for the then reigning league champions in front of 30,000 spectators in a 1-1 draw with Cardiff City.

[4] He spent parts of three seasons at Turf Moor playing 45 times, but like some of his Glentoran colleagues before him, moved back to the Oval.

[citation needed] After departing Burnley, Billy Emerson returned to Belfast where he played with Glentoran for two more years until 1926.

He also played with Glentoran's cross city rivals Linfield and also enjoyed two spells back in east Belfast with Dundela.