James Main (29 May 1886 – 29 December 1909) was a Scottish

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 ...

, who played for Hibernian and the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...

as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Main suffered fatal internal injuries while playing in a match on Christmas Day 1909, and died four days later. Main signed for Hibs in 1904 from

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

. He played regularly for the club over the course of the next few seasons,(Hibernian player) Main, Jimmy
FitbaStats and won international recognition when he was selected to play for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

in the

1909 British Home Championship Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Scotland won the match 5–0, and Main was expected to win further honours. Main also played for the Scottish League once, in February 1908. Main's life and career was cut short, however, when he suffered a ruptured bowel after being kicked in the stomach by

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. The club have been mem ...

outside-left Frank Branscombe during a match played at Firhill on Christmas Day 1909. John Sharp, a teammate of Main, later said that the incident was an accident because the Thistle player had slipped on the icy surface before making contact. Main had returned home on the night of the game, but he was rushed to

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

when the extent of his internal injuries were realised. An emergency operation was initially successful, but further treatment was ineffective and Main died from his injuries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Main, James 1886 births 1909 deaths Footballers from West Lothian Men's association football defenders Association football players who died while playing Scottish men's footballers Hibernian F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Sport deaths in Scotland People from West Calder