James Caine (24 June 1908 – 9 May 1971) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a central defender. He was on the books of three

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

clubs, but only played in the first-team for Nelson, where he made five league appearances. After leaving

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

in 1932, he spent some time in

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

, before retiring to work in a factory.

Biography

Caine was born in the town Brierfield,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

on 24 June 1908. After retiring from professional football, he worked in the William Fell & Co. weaving factory in nearby Nelson. Caine had six sons, and his son Brian also went on to become a professional footballer with

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

. James Caine died in his home in Walton Lane, Nelson, on 9 May 1971, at the age of 62.

Football career

As a youth, Caine played football with Brierfield Schoolboys before joining

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

outfit

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

in December 1927.Dykes, p. 25 He failed to break into the first team squad and left the club at the beginning of the 1929–30 season in order to join

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

side Nelson. He initially played in the reserves, but was widely expected to become an integral part of the team. Caine made his professional debut on 1 March 1930 in the 0–3 defeat away at Doncaster Rovers, as a replacement for regular centre-half Jim Metcalfe. He also appeared in the 0–2 loss to

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at Seedhill the following week, before returning to the reserves for the remainder of the season. In the 1930–31 campaign, Nelson's last in the Football League, Caine played in the loss against Lincoln City on 15 September 1930, and helped the team to a 2–2 draw with

New Brighton New Brighton is the name of several places, sports teams etc.: Australia * New Brighton, New South Wales, a town near Ocean Shores Canada * New Brighton, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood * New Brighton (Gambier Island), a settlement in British ...

five days later. A lengthy spell in the reserves followed, with Caine failing to make the first team squad during the next seven months. He returned to the starting line-up for the home match against Southport on 18 April 1931, but he could not prevent the team being beaten 1–4.Dykes, p. 84 Nelson finished bottom of the Third Division North in 1931 and failed re-election to the Football League. Subsequently, all professional players left the club and Caine joined local side Brierfield RC before joining

on a free transfer in August 1931. However, he failed to make a first-team appearance for his new club and later signed for non-league Barnoldswick Town. In January 1935, he retired from competitive football to begin work at the William Fell & Co. factory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caine, James 1908 births 1971 deaths Sportspeople from Nelson, Lancashire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Burnley F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Bury F.C. players English Football League players Barnoldswick Town F.C. players Footballers from Lancashire