Jimmy Croal
Personal information
Full name James Anderson Croal[1]
Date of birth (1885-07-27)27 July 1885
Place of birth Hutchesontown, Scotland[2]
Date of death 16 September 1939(1939-09-16) (aged 54)[3]
Place of death Yeovil, England[4]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Inside left
Youth career
Falkirk Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1905–1910 Rangers 3 (0)
1906–1907 → Ayr Parkhouse (loan) 11 (0)
→ Alloa Athletic (loan)
→ Dunfermline Athletic (loan)
1910–1914 Falkirk 97 (31)
1914–1922 Chelsea 113 (22)
1919 → Falkirk (guest) 10 (0)
→ Dunfermline Athletic (guest)
1921–1923 Fulham 36 (6)
International career
1913–1914 Scotland 3 (0)
1913–1914 Scottish League XI 3 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Anderson Croal (27 July 1885 – 16 September 1939) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Falkirk, Rangers, Chelsea and Scotland.[2] He was judged to be a clever inside left who when paired with Bob McNeil was very effective.[5]

Career

Croal was a lively inside left, who joined Rangers in 1905 from junior football.[4] However, he failed to make the breakthrough to the first team and went out on loan to Ayr Parkhouse, Alloa Athletic and Dunfermline Athletic,[3] before finally leaving Ibrox to sign for Falkirk for a £10 fee in November 1910.[4] At Brockville, his career blossomed, and he won the Scottish Cup in 1913, as well as three international caps for Scotland and five appearances for the Scottish League XI.[4][6] Croal transferred to Chelsea from Falkirk in April 1914.[7][5] Chelsea paid £2,000 for him and he remained at Stamford Bridge until 1922. He was a member of the Chelsea side that reached the 1915 FA Cup Final.[5] He made a total of 130 appearances for Chelsea, scoring a total of 26 goals.[8] Croal then spent two-and-a-half seasons with Fulham before retiring.[9]

Personal life

Croal was a schoolmaster by profession.[2] In the summer of 1916, two years since the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted as a private in the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[10] By March 1918 he had risen to the rank of corporal and finished the war as an acting sergeant.[4][10]

Honours

Falkirk

References

  1. ↑ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 70. ISBN 978-1905891610.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jimmy Croal". Rangers FC History.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  3. 1 2 Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jimmy Croal | Football and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Unknown (1915). Cup Final Programme.
  6. ↑ Jimmy Croal at the Scottish Football Association
  7. ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02889/Telegraph1914_2404_2889430a.pdf
  8. ↑ Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. p. 401. ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.
  9. ↑ "James Croal". Fulhamweb. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Croal Jimmy Image 1 Chelsea 1921". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
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