James Allan Ross (26 May 1942 – 2 November 1999) was a Scottish professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
goalkeeper who played most of his career for
Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
.
Although always listed with the English 'Alan' on teamsheets, Ross's birth certificate lists him as the Scottish 'Allan'. Ross holds the all-time appearance record for Carlisle United, 466 games. Ross was once called on during an injury crisis to play outfield as a substitute. Ross was part of the Carlisle team who were promoted to the
First Division in 1974.
Ross could have been transferred to
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in the late 1960s, but Carlisle United blocked the move. Around the same time he trained with the
Scotland squad, but was never given a full international cap. After his retirement Ross remained in
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
, working in housing for the city council.
Details of Ross's career can be found in ''Legends of Carlisle United'' by Mick Mitchell which features a lengthy interview, and Paul Harrison's ''Lads in Blue'' which includes a statistical summary of Ross's career and a round-up of every season during which he played.
Neil Nixon
Neil Nixon is an author, journalist and academic from Workington, England. Nixon's published works include titles on the paranormal, popular music, football and two novels published under the name of Stanley Manly. In 1999, he founded the Unit ...
's memoir; ''Singin' The Blues'' is dedicated to Alan Ross.
References
External links
*
1942 births
1999 deaths
Footballers from Glasgow
Dumbarton F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
Association football goalkeepers
Hamilton Academical F.C. players
Luton Town F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
English Football League players
Petershill F.C. players
Scottish footballers
Scottish Junior Football Association players
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