James Miller (10 February 1871 – 5 February 1907) 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 Sunderland, Rangers 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 thr ...

as a forward.

Club career

Initially playing with hometown village team Annbank, Miller was one of several skilled Scottish players brought to Sunderland by manager Tom Watson, which collectively became known as the 'team of all talents'. A player noted for his skill on the ball rather than physical power, he made his debut for the ''Black Cats'' on 13 September 1890 against

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 ...

, a match Sunderland lost 3–2. He played for Sunderland over two different spells: 1890–96 (winning three Football League championships in four seasons) and 1900–04 (claiming a fourth title), separated by a stint in his homeland at Rangers where he won two Scottish Football League titles and two

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Billy Dunlop (only two years older) was a teammate at Sunderland and Rangers, and his wife Marion was the sister of another teammate, Will Gibson. He later had a short spell with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

and then joined

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

for the club's first-ever season, but although registered as a player he did not make a competitive appearance and was mainly acting as trainer, the role he was still in at the time of his death from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

in February 1907, aged 36.

International career

Having been considered ineligible for selection during his productive first spell at Sunderland (the Scottish Football Association ignored players at English clubs until 1896), Miller was capped for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

three times between 1897 and 1898 during his time with Rangers, scoring twice, both in matches against

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 ...

; his first was the winning goal to secure the 1896–97 British Home Championship at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, while his second at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

almost exactly a year later proved to be merely a consolation for the hosts as England won both the match and the tournament. He also represented the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

three times in the same period.

Honours

Sunderland * Football League: 1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1901–02 *

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

Sheriff of London Charity Shield The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, also known as the Dewar Shield, was a football competition played annually between the best amateur and best professional club in England, though Scottish amateur side Queens Park also took part in 1899. The ...

: 1902–03 Rangers *

Scottish League Division One The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

: 1898–99, 1899–1900 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1896–97, 1897–98; runner-up 1898–99 *

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rul ...

: 1896–97, 1897–98 *

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cu ...

: 1896–97, 1899–1900 *

Glasgow Football League The Glasgow Football League was formed in in Scotland as one of several supplementary football leagues that were created in order to increase the number of fixtures for Scottish Football League clubs.British Home Championship: 1896–97

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jimmy Scottish footballers Footballers from South Ayrshire Scotland international footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Annbank F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players 1871 births 1907 deaths Tuberculosis deaths in England English Football League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff Association football forwards Association football coaches 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis