James Joseph Lawlor (10 May 1933 – 5 April 2012), also known as Jimmy Lawlor or Jim Lawlor, was an Irish 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 in both Ireland and England as a

centre half 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 ...

Career

Born in Finglas Bridge, Dublin, Ireland, Lawlor spent his early career with

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

and Drumcondra. In August 1952, he was signed for English club

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

by manager Peter Doherty. He made his debut for Doncaster on 16 October 1954 in a 5–1 defeat against Lincoln City, and made a total of nine appearances in

the 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 ...

for Doncaster during the 1954–55 season. He also scored two goals in a friendly match against Scottish club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

on 18 November 1952. After leaving Doncaster, Lawlor had a spell in Northern Ireland with

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

, before signing with English club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

in March 1957. After scoring five goals in 153 appearances in the Football League for them, and 176 appearances in all competitions, Lawlor retired at the age of 28 in 1962, due to a broken leg injury.

Later life and death

Lawlor died on 5 April 2012, at the age of 78, following a period of illness.

References

1933 births 2012 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Drumcondra F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Coleraine F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players NIFL Premiership players Transport F.C. players Men's association football defenders Association footballers from County Dublin {{Ireland-footy-defender-stub