James William Crabtree (23 December 1871–18 June 1908) was a gifted English footballer of the end of the 19th century.

Career

Crabtree began his career at

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, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, but left in 1890 and played in non-league football for two years before returning to Burnley for the 1892–93 season. His performances attracted the attention of FA Cup holders, Aston Villa, in 1895. He played alongside

Howard Spencer Howard Spencer (23 August 1875 – 14 January 1940) was an English professional footballer. Often referred to as the "Prince of Fullbacks" due to his sportsmanship and ability, Spencer is considered one of the greatest Aston Villa captains of al ...

at left-half, and went on to share the captaincy of the club with him. He won League Championship medals with Villa in

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, he also lifted the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

in as a part of the Aston Villa team that completed the Double in 1897. He was capped 11 times by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

whilst at Villa. Crabtree joined Plymouth Argyle in January 1904 and made four appearances in the Southern League before injury forced him to retire. He then coached at several non-league clubs and later became a pub licensee in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. He died suddenly at the age of 36. His death was drink related.''Not Taking the Medicine: Sportsmen and Doctors in Late Nineteenth-Century Britain'', Mike Cronin, Journal of Sport History, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Spring 2007), pp. 23-35

Honours

; Aston Villa * Football League champions: 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–00 *

winner:

References

External links

Jimmy Crabtree
a
Aston Villa Player Database
*

a
Spartacus Educational
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabtree, Jimmy 1871 births 1908 deaths Footballers from Burnley English footballers England international footballers Association football defenders Burnley F.C. players Rossendale United F.C. players Heywood Central F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players English Football League representative players FA Cup Final players