Bill Laughlin was born December 10, 1915, in Hookstown, PA. After graduating from East Liverpool High School in 1934, Bill enrolled at Washington & Jefferson College, where he served as captain for a season and served with College Basketball Hall of Famer Buddy Jeannette as one of Washington & Jefferson's greatest basketball scoring dynamic duos.

After graduating from Washington & Jefferson in 1938, Bill worked at the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company in Wheeling, WV. During the first part of the 1938-39 basketball season, Bill played forward for the Elmira Colonels in the New York-Penn League, appearing in 13 games, scoring 84 points, and averaging 6.5 points per game.

In 1938, Bill traveled to Warren, PA, to join the Warren Penns of the National Basketball League (nka NBA). In the middle of the season, the owner of the team moved the squad to Cleveland, OH, to increase attendance. On February 10, 1939, the Warren Penns, with a 9-5 record, moved from the Beatty Junior High Gym in Warren, PA, with a seating capacity of 1,000, to Cleveland, OH, and played in the 10,000-seating capacity Public Hall. During the 1939 season, the Warren Penns moved to Cleveland and changed their name to the White Horses.

During the 1938-39 season, Bill was again teammates with Buddy Jeannette. Bill played in 27 of 28 games and led the team in scoring with 232 points, averaging 8.6 points per game that season. The Warren Penns / Cleveland White Horses finished third in the NBL Eastern Division with a 14-14 record. Bill would finish his career playing two more basketball seasons, for the Independent League East Liverpool Fleetwing in 1939-40 and 1940-41.

From 1939 to 1943, Bill taught and was head coach at his alma mater of East Liverpool High School, when he entered the U.S. Navy and saw duty in the European and Pacific theaters of World War II.

Upon his return from military service, Bill taught social studies, health, and physical education, and was the head basketball coach at Washington High School in Washington, PA, from the 1946-47 season through the 1961-62 season. At Washington High School, Bill compiled a career record of 262-94, winning 10 consecutive section titles and at one point amassing 76 consecutive section wins. His teams played in two WPIAL Championships but were defeated in both. Bill retired from teaching in 1978. In 1986, Bill was inducted into the inaugural class of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Washington-Greene County Chapter.

William Merle Laughlin died November 22, 1993, at age 77, in Washington, PA.