Jimmy Speirs: Difference between revisions

Speirs was born on 22 March 1886 in the [[Govan]] area of [[Glasgow]], Scotland, the fifth of six children of James Hamilton Speirs and Janet Shields Speirs (née McLean).<ref name="scotlandswar">{{Cite web |url=http://www.scotlandswar.co.uk/pdf_James_Spiers.pdf |title=Jimmy Spiers – Footballer |accessdateaccess-date=10 June 2018 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143035/http://www.scotlandswar.co.uk/pdf_James_Spiers.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 1901, the family had moved to nearby [[Govanhill]] and Jimmy worked as a [[clerk (position)|clerk]].<ref name="jimmyspeirs family">{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/6401.html|title=Early years and family|accessdateaccess-date=1 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812175641/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/6401.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was in Govanhill that Speirs' [[association football|football]] ability was first shown, when he played in the junior football circuit on the black ash pitches of Glasgow, for Annandale, during summer tournaments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/11301.html|title=Annandale|accessdateaccess-date=3 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812172217/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/11301.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 1904–05 team contained six junior internationals, and the side won three titles that season.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> Speirs' first recorded scoring appearance was on 29 April 1905, when his two goals helped Maryhill beat [[Parkhead F.C.|Parkhead]] 2–0.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> Speirs scored again in a 3–3 draw against [[Ashfield F.C.|Ashfield]] in the Glasgow Junior Cup final and scored the only goal of the replay to help Maryhill win the competition.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> Maryhill also won the [[Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup]] and the league title although it is unknown if Speirs played in the cup final or picked up a league winners medal.<ref name="maryhill">{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/11501.html|title=Maryhill|accessdateaccess-date=3 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812181843/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/11501.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the end of the season, Speirs and junior international [[John McFie]] both moved across Glasgow to [[Scottish Football League First Division|First Division]] side [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]],<ref name="maryhill"/> who had finished second to city rivals [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] after losing out in a title play-off. Speirs did not make his full debut until 25 September 1905, when Rangers lost 5–0 to [[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|Heart of Midlothian]] at [[Ibrox Stadium|Ibrox]].<ref name="fitbastats">{{Cite web |url=http://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/player.php?playerid=1841 |title=Rangers Player Jimmy Spiers Details |website=www.fitbastats.com |accessdateaccess-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> Speirs scored his first Rangers goal two weeks later during the next league game in a 4–1 win away to [[Port Glasgow F.C.|Port Glasgow]].<ref name="rangers">{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12701.html|title=Rangers|accessdateaccess-date=3 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812172529/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12701.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In [[1907-08 in Scottish football|1907–08]], Celtic once again finished top, with Rangers in third, and knocked their rivals out of the Scottish Cup. The two teams also met in the final of the [[Glasgow Cup]], with Celtic winning in the second replay. Speirs was limited to 13&nbsp;games, none of which Rangers lost,<ref name="rangers"/> and he left after playing 62&nbsp;matches, from which he scored 29&nbsp;goals.<ref name="markham"/> During his final days with Rangers, he also won his only [[cap (sport)|cap]] for [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], in a 2–1 win over [[Wales national football team|Wales]] on 7 March 1908.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/players/?pid=113044 |title=James Speirs |publisher=Scottish Football Association |accessdateaccess-date=30 June 2008}}</ref> Speirs won a representative cap 11&nbsp;days later, when he played and scored for Glasgow during an inter-city fixture with Sheffield. The game finished 2–2.<ref name="rangers"/><ref>{{cite news|title=The Inter-City fixture|date=19 March 1908|publisher=Glasgow Evening Times}}</ref>

In the summer of 1908, after three years with Rangers, Speirs moved to another Glasgow-based club, [[Clyde F.C.|Clyde]], which later played in the First Division.<ref name="markham"/> Clyde's [[Shawfield Stadium|Shawfield Park]] ground was three miles from Speirs' home in Govanhill, in the [[Rutherglen]] area of the city, where Speirs' grandparents and father lived. Clyde had finished 17th in 1907–08, one point ahead of bottom side Port Glasgow. Speirs played only 14&nbsp;league&nbsp;games for Clyde but helped them to their highest league position of third, three points behind winners Celtic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12901.html|title=Clyde|accessdateaccess-date=3 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812184612/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12901.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Clyde lost to Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final, following a replay. It was Speirs' only season with Clyde, during which he scored a total of 10&nbsp;goals from 20&nbsp;appearances.<ref name="markham"/>

Speirs left his native Scotland during the summer of 1909, to head for [[Yorkshire]] and sign for [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]], under the management of his countryman [[Peter O'Rourke (footballer)|Peter O'Rourke]].<ref name="scotlandswar" /> It would be City's second season in the [[Football League Division One|First Division]] following their [[promotion and relegation|promotion]] in [[1907-08 in English football|1907–08]],{{sfn|Frost|1988|pp=32–33}} and O'Rourke wanted to strengthen his side after they narrowly avoided relegation in their first season in the top flight.<ref name="scotlandswar" />

[[Image:Bradford1911.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City's]]'s [[1911 FA Cup Final|1911 FA Cup]] winning team. Speirs is sat in the centre of the middle row.]]

It was the following season when Speirs wrote his name in the club's record books, with his performance in the same competition.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> He played 25&nbsp;league games, scoring seven goals, to help City to fifth place,<ref name="markham"/> a position which the club has not yet bettered.<ref>{{cite web|url=httphttps://www.fchd.info/BRADFORC.HTM|title=Bradford City|accessdateaccess-date=29 June 2008|publisher=Football Club History Database}}</ref> The club reached the [[FA Cup Finals|FA Cup Final]] in the same season, with Speirs playing in all but one of the games along the way, scoring in a 2–1 second round victory over [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]].{{sfn|Frost|1988|pp=184–185}} Speirs, along with [[Frank Thompson (footballer)|Frank Thompson]] and [[George Robinson (footballer born 1878)|George Robinson]], was censured by [[the Football Association]] following a scramble for the match ball at the end of the semi-final victory against [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]].<ref name="bradford city">{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12927.html|title=Bradford City|accessdateaccess-date=4 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812174846/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12927.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Speirs was captain of the side and in the days up to the final he wrote to his opposite number, [[Colin Veitch]].<ref name="scotlandswar" /> The contents of his letter are not known, but in his reply, Veitch said Speirs had "expressed in sound terms the true spirit of comradeship, and the proper sentiments one would expect to see associated with the sportsman, and the sport".<ref name="bradford city" /> Speirs led out a team which contained eight Scots for the final at the [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre|Crystal Palace]] on 22 April 1911 against [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]].<ref name="markham"/>{{sfn|Frost|1988|pp=46–49}} The game ended in a 0–0 draw, in what was described as a "decidedly dull and uneventful game".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?toDate=1911-04-30&fromDate=1911-04-01&currentPageNumber=1&resultsPerPage=10&sortBy=default&offset=0&viewName=&addFilters=&removeFilters=&addCat=&queryKeywords=Bradford+City&sectionId=1040&currPgSmartSet=1&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1911-04-24-15&articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1911-04-24-15-002&xmlpath=&pubId=17&totalResults=36&addRefineFilters=&removeRefineFilters=&addRefineCat=&next_Page=false&prev_Page=false&date_dd_From=1&date_mm_From=04&date_yyyy_From=1911&date_dd_to_range=30&date_mm_to_range=04&date_yyyy_to_range=1911&date_dd_from_precise=1&date_mm_from_precise=04&date_yyyy_from_precise=1911&isDateSearch=false&dateSearchType=range&refineQuerykeywordText=|title=A drawn game|work=The Times|date=24 April 1911|accessdateaccess-date=29 June 2008|page=15|location=London, UK}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Speirs joined neighbours [[Leeds City F.C.|Leeds City]], which played in the [[Football League Division Two|Second Division]], for a fee of [[pound sterling|£]]1,200 (a then-record for both clubs),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/18489415.city-team-mates-rundown-1911-fa-cup-winners/|title=CITY TEAM-MATES: The 1911 FA Cup winners|website=Bradford Telegraph and Argus}}</ref> in December 1912, becoming one of [[Herbert Chapman]]'s first signings.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> Speirs' debut came on 28 December in a 3–2 defeat to [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]] and although his first goal did not come until his fifth game against [[Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.|Bradford (Park Avenue)]], Speirs finished second highest scorer with 10&nbsp;goals, behind [[Billy McLeod]].<ref name="scotlandswar" /> Their goals helped Leeds finish in sixth position, 10&nbsp;points off the promotion places.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> The following season, Leeds came closer to promotion, but despite Speirs, as captain, scoring 12&nbsp;goals and McLeod netting 27, they came fourth, two points behind Park Avenue in the second promotion spot.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> Despite the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]] in June 1914, league football continued, but Leeds lost their first four games of the season and were unable to recover, finishing a lowly 15th. Speirs scored the only goal of the West Riding Cup final against [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]] on 11 November 1914 to give what was Leeds City's only ever trophy before the club was expelled from the league in 1919 and subsequently dissolved. League football was suspended at the end of the season and the last game of Speirs' career was a 2–0 defeat to [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] on 24 April 1915.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> He played 73&nbsp;league games for Leeds, scoring 32&nbsp;goals.<ref name="leeds city">{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12953.tml|title=Leeds City|accessdateaccess-date=3 October 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812154947/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12953.html|archivedate=12 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In total, Speirs had played 226&nbsp;league games, a further 30&nbsp;Scottish and English FA Cup games, and several other appearances in other cup competitions.<ref name="scotlandswar" /> During his career, he scored 92&nbsp;league goals, and 12&nbsp;senior cup goals.<ref name="summary">{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12979.html|title=Football Summary|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|accessdateaccess-date=2 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812145908/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/12979.html|archive-date=12 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the end of the [[1914-151914–15 in English football|1914–15]] season, Speirs returned to his native Glasgow and enlisted in the [[Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders]] on 17 May 1915.<ref name="markham"/><ref name="highlanders">{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/13005.html|title=Cameron Highlanders|accessdateaccess-date=4 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812145016/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/13005.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Conscription]] was a year away, from which Speirs would have been exempt because he was married with two young children. Private S/18170 Speirs was posted to the regiment's headquarters in Inverness where he joined the 3rd Battalion, a reserve battalion, for training.<ref name="highlanders"/> He was appointed to the position of [[Lance Corporal]] while on training and after the British troops suffered heavy casualties,<ref name="FATFWW" /> Speirs was posted overseas on 29 May 1916. The following month, he was promoted to the position of [[Corporal]].<ref name="highlanders"/> Later the same year, he wounded his elbow, from either a gunshot or shrapnel injury.<ref name="highlanders"/><ref name="leader">{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/search/display.var.1612976.0.leader_on_the_pitch_and_the_battlefield.php|title=Leader on the pitch and the battlefield|publisher=Telegraph & Argus|accessdateaccess-date=3 October 2016|first=Mark|last=Neale}}</ref>

In April 1917, Speirs took part in the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Second Battle of Arras]],<ref name="highlanders"/> for which he was awarded the [[Military Medal]] for bravery in May 1917, before he was promoted to [[Sergeant]] in June.<ref name="leader"/> The following month, he returned home to Scotland on leave, but he soon returned to France and was killed during the [[Battle of Passchendaele]] on or about 20 August 1917, aged 31. He was shot in the thigh during an advance and crawled into a shellhole. He was attended to, but was abandoned by his regiment and was not seen again.<ref name="markham"/><ref name="leader"/> He is buried at {{Interlanguage link multi|Dochy Farm New British Cemetery|nl}}, near [[Ypres]] in Belgium.<ref name="CWGC">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/161211 |title=Casualty details—Speirs, James H. |publisher=[[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]] |accessdateaccess-date=3 October 2016}}</ref>

Following Speirs' death, Bessie remarried during the 1920s and moved to the south of England with Betty and her new husband. His son remained in Scotland but later emigrated to Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/13031.html|title=Postscript|accessdateaccess-date=5 July 2008|publisher=jimmyspeirs.co.uk|archive-date=12 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812150504/http://jimmy-speirs.co.uk/13031.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2003, his family [[auction]]ed Speirs' 1911 FA Cup winning medal with his Military Medal and service medal. The FA Cup medal was sold for £26,210, a record for a cup medal.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/8007409.__26_210_paid_for_cup_medal/|title=£26,210 paid for cup medal|publisher=Telegraph & Argus|date=17 November 2003|accessdateaccess-date=22 December 2017}}</ref>

Bradford City fan [[Mark Lawn]] bought Speirs' FA Cup winning medal. Lawn later became chairman of the football club and allowed the medal to be shown, alongside that of Frank Thompson, in the club's museum. Speirs' medals formed part of an exhibition to celebrate Bradford City's centenary in 2003 at [[Bradford Industrial Museum]] and have also been on show at [[Imperial War Museum North]], in [[Greater Manchester]], as part of an exhibition linking sport and war.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/8009690.100_years_to_celebrate/|title=100 years to celebrate|date=17 September 2003|accessdateaccess-date=22 December 2017|publisher=Telegraph & Argus}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/8001049.Soccer_heroes__bravery_on_show/|title=Soccer heroes' bravery on show|date=3 July 2004|accessdateaccess-date=22 December 2017|publisher=Telegraph & Argus}}</ref>

'''AnnandaleMaryhill'''

|[[1912–13 Football League Second Division|1912–13]]<ref name="ozwhitelufc">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ozwhitelufc.net.au/leeds_stats/leeds_city_player_details/SpeirsJH_LCFC.php |title=Leeds United F.C. History |website=www.ozwhitelufc.net.au |accessdateaccess-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>

{{reflistReflist}}

*{{cite book|last=Frost|first=Tery|title=Bradford City; a Complete Record 1903–1988|year=1988|publisher=Breedon Books|location=Derby|isbn=978-0907969389|ref={{Harvid|Frost|1988}} }}

[[Category:Scottish men's footballers]]

[[Category:Scotland men's international footballers]]

[[Category:AssociationMen's association football inside forwards]]