James Birch (footballer)

James Robert Birch (1888–1940) was an English footballer who played mainly with Queens Park Rangers.

James Robert Birch
Birch in 1920
Personal information
Full name James Robert Birch[1]
Date of birth 1888
Place of birth Blackwell, England
Date of death 1940 (aged 51–52)[1]
Playing position(s) Forward
Youth career
1907–1911 Stourbridge
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1911–1912 Aston Villa 3 (2)
1912–1926 Queens Park Rangers 334 (125)
1926 Brentford 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Birch was signed by QPR manager James Cowan from his former club Aston Villa. Birch had scored 49 goals for Villa's reserves in two seasons but was only a fringe player at the Midlands club, and this form prompted Rangers to sign him in 1912.[2] Birch was small in stature – only 5 feet 7 inches – but he was a stocky and bustling inside-forward. He made his debut in the September against Plymouth Argyle and scored both goals in a 2–1 win.[2] Had the First World War not intervened it is very possible that he would have played in excess of 500 games for QPR and ended up as the club's all-time leading scorer. Although never really prolific he was an extremely consistent goalscorer who could usually be relied on to score 15+ a season. There is another James Robert Birch currently residing in Vermont.

He went on to play 334 league games (363 in all competitions) for Rangers, scoring 125 league goals (144 in all). He stands third in the all-time list of leading scorers at QPR. In 1926 he was transferred to Brentford.[2]

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 27. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. "Birch Jimmy Image 1 Queens Park Rangers 1923". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  • Macey, Gordon (1993). Queens Park Rangers – A Complete Record. The Breedon Books Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 978-1-873626-40-5.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.