|
Jimmy
Conlin |
 Bradford City
FC
1 appearance, 0 goals
P 1 W 0 D 0 L 1 F 1:
A 2
0% successful
1906
captain: none
minutes played: 90 |
 |
|
Timeline |
| |
Private
James Conlin |
|
Birth |
6 July 1881 in
Consett, County Durham [no registration found]. |
|
Birth notes |
There were two
James Conlin's registered in Durham (Sunderland district), one in June
1881, the other in September 1882. |
|
|
Between
April and June 1881 Mary Ann Courtney is pregnant with the child who would
become James. She would marry his father, Luke Conlin, in Lanchester,
County Durham. But they did return to Coatsbridge before 1886, where all
future Conlin's were born. |
|
|
According to the 1891 census,
James is the oldest of four children to Luke and Mary Ann. His younger
three siblings were all born in Coatbridge from 1885. His Scottish father
is a puddler, and the live at The Depot in Old Monkland in Coatsbridge,
Scotland. |
|
|
According to the 1901 census, nineteen year old James
remains the oldest of the four children still at home with their parents.
Now living at 69 North Jackson Street in Old Monkland. James is a labourer
at the Iron Works. |
|
Marriage |
to Elizabeth
[no registration, presumably married in Scotland in 1904]. |
,%20Jimmy.jpg) |
According to the 1911 census,
James is married to Elizabeth and is a professional footballer, he has two
children, David (born in 1906, Bradford) and Elizabeth Ann (born 1909 in
Coatbridge, Scotland). They live at 10
Moorland Street in West Gorton, Manchester. |
|
Death: 23 June 1917,
aged 35 years 352 days
[registered in Army Deaths]. Killed in Action. He has no
known grave and is commemorated on the Nieuport memorial (left),
Arrondissement Veurne, West-Vlaanderen. |
|
 Douglas Lammings' An
English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990], BantamsPast.co.uk/FallenHeroes
& |
|
Playing
Career |
|
Club(s) |
Jimmy
began his career in Scotland with captain Colt's Rovers. He went onto
Cambuslang FC and Hibernian FC. He joined Falkirk FC on 9 January 1900,
and on 14 March 1901 he joined Albion Rovers as a left winger.
Conlin should have signed for Bradford City FC in April 1904, however,
Albion Rovers wanted £200. City appealed to the Scottish League Committee
and they set Conlin's transfer fee at £60. Albion Rovers responded by
alleging that City had approached Conlin without their consent. An
international committee, made up of representatives from both sides of the
border, met at Carlisle on 23 September. City were found guilty, but the
transfer was allowed to proceed. City were fined £50 for their 'illegal'
approach of the player. However, a £100 transfer fee was approved and Conlin was thus freed to appear in City's victory over Port Vale at Valley
Parade on 24 September 1904. |
|
Jimmy became the first
Bradford City player ever to be sent off when he was dismissed during a
6-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on 11 November 1905. On 10 February
1906 he was at the centre of yet another controversy. Manchester United
came to Valley Parade, during the game United's burly Bob Bonthron
repeatedly clashed with Jimmy. The crowd 'angered by Jimmy's treatment'
got completely out of hand. After the game the visiting team were pelted
with missiles as they made their way up Holywell Ash Lane. The Football
League held a commission of enquiry and duly closed Valley Parade for a
fortnight between 1-14 March. Sadly, Jimmy's off field problems
worsened when he failed to turn up for several Airdrieonians training
sessions. On 4 February 1913, after Jimmy admitted having a drink problem,
the board fined him again, ordered him to find work and told him to stop
drinking. The warning had no effect, on 15 April 1913 Jimmy was suspended
by the club and placed on the transfer list. Obviously, the club still
rated him as a footballer, as they were asking £200 for his services. |
| |
Jimmy made 67 appearances for
Bradford City, scoring ten goals. On 13
July 1906 Manchester City paid £1,000 to secure Jimmy's services. After
175 appearances and 30 goals he left for Birmingham City FC on 29
September 1911. A stay at plagued by injury, he made only 23
appearances, scoring twice. On 8 July 1912 Jimmy moved back to
Scotland, with Airdrieonians FC for a fee of £150, but on 7 October he
was fined £2 10s. for failing to turn up for a game. On
13 August 1913 the Coatbridge Express reported that Jimmy had joined
Broxburn Athletic FC, but it was a move that was 'not the will of the
directors'. Presumably the £200 was not forthcoming! Jimmy had made 27
appearances for Airdrie, scoring six goals. His long and occasionally
troubled career ended at Broxburn. |
|
Club honours |
Scottish
Combination Championship 1901-02, 1902-03. Lanarkshire Cup
runner-up 1902-03. Scottish Qualifying Cup
runner-up 1903-04. Football League Division Two winner 1909-10.
Lanarkshire Cup winner 1911-12; |
|
Individual honours |
None |
|
Distinctions |
None |
|
Height/Weight |
5'
5", 9st.
1lbs [1906]. Athletic News, in 1927, stated 5' 4", 9st 6lbs. |
|
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An English
Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] |
|
England Career |
|
Player number |
One of
three who became the 318th
players (320) to appear for England. |
|
Position(s) |
Outside-left |
|
Only match |
No. 88,
7 April 1906, Scotland 2 England 1, a
British Championship match at Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow, aged
24 years
275 days. |
|
Major tournaments |
British Championship 1905-06 |
|
Team honours |
British Championship shared
1905-06 |
|
Individual honours |
None |
|
Distinctions |
Died 22 days after Jack Yates |
|
Beyond England |
|
At the outbreak of the Great War,
James enlisted in Coatbridge with the Highland Light Infantry, serving in the 15th
(Service) Battalion (1st Glasgow). The battalion was transferred to
the Nieuport sector on the Belgium coast during June 1917, in readiness to
support a British offensive at the third Battle of Ypres. This is where
Private Conlin (26447) died. -
An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who.
Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.72./BantamsPast.co.uk/FallenHeroes |
