James Rothwell (1883 – 1940) was an English
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
full-back in the
Southern League for
West Ham United.
Rothwell was born in
Crosby,
Lancashire. He played for Litherland and had trials with
Liverpool before joining Southern League First Division club West Ham United in 1910. He made his debut against
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
in a 3–0 defeat on 13 December. His second outing saw West Ham beat
Leyton by the same scoreline and he scored his first of four goals for the club in his fourth match, against
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
. He missed one match up to the end of the
1910–11 season and was part of the team that reached the fourth round of the
FA Cup, beating
Nottingham Forest,
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
and
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
along the way but eventually succumbing to
Blackburn Rovers.
He remained a regular in the team until the
1913–14 season, often partnering
Frank Burton.
He played his final match on 25 February 1914, against Liverpool, in an FA Cup third round replay at
Anfield. In all, he totalled 98 games for West Ham in league and cup.
In December 1916, he returned to the club for two matches in the wartime
London Combination, partnering his eventual replacement
Billy Cope
William Arthur Cope (25 November 1884 – 18 February 1937) was an English footballer who played as a full-back. He played 287 league games in the Football League over a nineteen-year professional career.
He joined Burslem Port Vale in A ...
against
Chelsea and
Clapton Orient.
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References
Bibliography
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External links
James Rothwell
at westhamstats.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothwell, Jim
1883 births
1940 deaths
People from Crosby, Merseyside
Sportspeople from Lancashire
English footballers
Association football fullbacks
West Ham United F.C. players
Southern Football League players