Jimmy Robertson (footballer, born 1909)
James Edward Robertson[1] (1909–1979) was a professional footballer who won two caps for the Scotland national football team. He made more than 150 appearances in the First Division of the Scottish Football League for Dundee,[2] and also played in the English Football League for Birmingham and the Scottish First Division for Kilmarnock.[3][4]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James Edward Robertson | ||
Date of birth | 1909 | ||
Place of birth | Dundee, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 1979 (aged 70) | ||
Place of death | Cupar, Scotland | ||
Playing position(s) | Centre forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Lochee United | |||
Logie Thistle | |||
1928–1933 | Dundee | 157 | (47) |
1933–1934 | Birmingham | 6 | (1) |
1934–1938 | Kilmarnock | 107 | (54) |
National team | |||
1931 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Life and career
Robertson was born in Dundee in 1909.[5] A centre forward, he played for junior clubs Lochee United and Logie Thistle before joining Dundee in June 1928.[6] In a five-and-a-half-year career with the club, he scored 50 goals in 169 games in all competitions, of which 47 goals came from 157 games in the First Division.[2] At the end of the 1930–31 season, Robertson was included in the squad for Scotland's European tour;[7] he played in two full international matches, a 5–0 defeat to Austria on 16 May 1931[8] and a 3–0 defeat to Italy four days later.[9]
In December 1933, English First Division club Birmingham paid £1,250 for Robertson's services, seeing him as a potential successor to the prolific Joe Bradford who was coming to the end of his career.[6] He went straight into the starting eleven and played six consecutive games, scoring once,[10] but he suffered badly from homesickness, which affected his play, and at the end of the season he returned to Scotland to join First Division club Kilmarnock for a fee of £1,000.[6] He maintained a scoring rate of a goal every other game while at Kilmarnock,[11] and retired from the game in 1938.[6]
Robertson died in 1979[5] in Cupar at the age of 70.[12]
References
- John Litster (October 2012). A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players. Scottish Football Historian magazine.
- 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–3, 1932–33, and "1933–34". DundeeFC.net. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
- Played For Dundee and Kilmarnock – Jimmy Robertson Dundee FC, 4 May 2017
- "Player search Robertson, JE (Jimmy)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- "Dark Blue for Club and Country". Dundee F.C. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008.
- "Austria v Scotland 16 May 1931". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- "Italy v Scotland 20 May 1931". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- Matthews, p. 176.
- "Kilmarnock: Player details: Robertson, Jimmy". FitbaStats. Bobby Sinnet and Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- "Statutory registers – Deaths – Search results". ScotlandsPeople. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
External links
- Jimmy Robertson at the Scottish Football Association
- Robertson's Scotland profile at London Hearts