James McBride (30 December 1873 – 25 May 1899) 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 le ...

, who played for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

during the latter half of the 19th century.

Life and playing career

Born in Renton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, McBride played for Renton Wanderers and Renton before being signed by

managers John McKenna and William Edward Barclay in 1892, a short time after he took part in a trial for the Scotland national team and made his sole appearance for the Scottish Football League XI (in the first fixture they played). McBride made his debut in Liverpool's first ever fixture, a friendly against Rotherham Town on 1 September 1892, which Liverpool won 7–1. He also played in their first ever competitive match, a Lancashire League fixture against Higher Walton two days later. He scored his first goal for Liverpool in this game, which the team won 8–0. McBride was a regular during Liverpool's unbeaten debut season in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

, missing just 4 of the 28 games. Liverpool gained promotion to the top flight of English football, replacing

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...

by winning 2–0 in a test (play-off) match. He only played five more times for the

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

club during their relegation back down to the lower level.

Honors

;Liverpool *

(1894)

References

;Sources
Profile at LFCHistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, James 1873 births 1899 deaths Liverpool F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Scottish footballers Renton F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players English Football League players Men's association football wing halves Footballers from West Dunbartonshire People from Renton, West Dunbartonshire