- Jim McAlpine
Infobox Football biography
playername = Jim McAlpine
fullname = James Walker McAlpine
dateofbirth = birth date|1887|2|5|df=y
cityofbirth =Coatbridge
countryofbirth =Scotland
dateofdeath = Not known
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height = height|ft=5|in=7
nickname =
position = Left half
currentclub =
youthyears =
youthclubs = Strathclyde
years = 1907–1908
1908–1909
1909–1910
1910–1911
1911–1915
1919
1919
1919–1921
1921–1923
clubs = Craigneuk Heatherbell
Dalziel Rovers
Vale of Clyde
Strathclyde
Southampton
Kilmarnock
Wishaw Thistle
Millwall
Gillingham
caps(goals) =
132 (2)
017 (0) [ Football League (1920-21) only]
047 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears =
managerclubs =James Walker McAlpine (born
5 February 1887 ) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a half back for Southampton in the Southern League before playing forFootball League clubs Millwall and Gillingham.Born in
Coatbridge he played for various local clubs, including Strathclyde where he was spotted by scouts from Southampton. Along with team-mate Andrew Gibson, he signed for The Saints in May 1911 and was considered to be one of new manager George Swift's better signings. Swift was Southampton’s first appointment as manager and promptly embarked on a spending spree, signing eleven players in six weeks. [cite book | author=Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley | title=Saints - A complete record| publisher= Breedon Books| year=1987| pages =pp.50-51 |id=ISBN 0-907969-22-4]Playing alongside the ever-dependable Bert Lee, he became a virtual ever-present up to the suspension of football in 1915. According to Holley & Chalk's "The Alphabet of the Saints", McAlpine was "rather small for a left half, (but) made up for his lack of stature with a determined and forceful temperament that made him a firm favourite with the Saints crowd." [cite book | author=Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk | title=The Alphabet of the Saints| publisher= ACL & Polar Publishing | year=1992|pages=p.215| id=ISBN 0-9514862-3-3]
During
World War I he remained on Saints' books, but joined local shipbuildersHarland and Wolff and turned out for their works football team, often against the Saints. He briefly returned to his native Scotland, playing for Kilmarnock and Wishaw Thistle.After the war he moved to Millwall where he was part of their first ever Football League side in 1920–21. In July 1921 he moved on to Gillingham for a couple of seasons before retiring.
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
