James Oakes (5 November 1902 – 7 November 1992) was an English
footballer who played as a
full-back.
Noted for his clean play, he turned professional at
Port Vale in November 1923. He played at
The Old Recreation Ground for ten years, helping the "Valiants" to top the
Third Division North in 1929–30. He was sold on to
Charlton Athletic for £3,000 in January 1933. He helped the "Addicks" to the
Third Division South title in 1934–35, promotion out of the
Second Division in 1935–36, and then second place in the
First Division in 1936–37. His career was ended by the outbreak of
World War II.
Playing career
Port Vale
Oakes played for Bethesda Mission and Milton Albion before joining
Port Vale as an amateur in August 1923, signing as a professional in November of that year.
He played two
Second Division games in
1923–24, before becoming a regular in the side from October 1924.
He played 31 games in
1924–25 and 42 games in
1925–26, scoring his first senior goal in a 5–2 defeat to
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
on 1 May 1926.
He made 45 appearances in
1926–27 and 41 appearances in
1927–28, as the club continued to post top ten finishes.
His career survived a
cartilage
Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...
operation in November 1928 as he returned to regular football four months later to finish
the season with 26 games to his name; the "Valiants" suffered relegation after finishing two points short of safety.
He managed a rare feat in scoring from his own half in a 2–1 defeat to
Stockport County at
The Old Recreation Ground on Christmas Day 1929, albeit with help from the wind.
Oakes made 36 appearances in the
1929–30 season as Vale finished top of the
Third Division North, playing alongside
Billy Wootton,
George Shenton, and
Bill Cope in a solid and consistent defence.
Oakes and Shenton formed a formidable partnership in
1930–31, as Vale posted the highest league finish in the
history of the club; he played 41 games, scoring one goal.
He featured 32 times in
1931–32, helping Vale to avoid relegation only due to their superior goal average to
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
.
He played 12 games in
1932–33, before he was sold to
Charlton Athletic for £3,000 in January 1933, with Port Vale desperately needed the funds.
Charlton Athletic
With the "Addicks" he became the first player to play for the opposing club in a re-arranged match. He played for Charlton in their 2–1 home win over Vale after the original fixture was abandoned on the previous Boxing day. Charlton went on to finish the season bottom of the Second Division, and were thus relegated into the
Third Division South. After Charlton finished fifth in
1933–34, they went on to top the division in
1934–35. A second successive promotion came in
1935–36, when they finished as Second Division runners-up, just one point behind
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 ...
. They then finished second in the
First Division in
1936–37, three points behind champions
Manchester City
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 Salford to the west. The tw ...
. They finished fourth in
1937–38, six points behind champions
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. Charlton then finished third in
1938–39, nine points behind champions
Everton. When
World War II was upon the country, Oakes guested for Port Vale in March 1940, and later
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
.
International career
Oakes played for "Rest" (effectively a
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 ...
select XI) against the England side in 1928.
Style of play
Oakes was a talented and consistent
full-back.
He was noted as being a clean player, who never resorted to rough play or dirty tricks.
Personal life
Oakes was a
pigeon fancier
Pigeon keeping or pigeon fancying is the art and science of breeding domestic pigeons. People have practiced pigeon keeping for at least 5,000 years and in almost every part of the world. In that time, humans have substantially altered the morph ...
, as was his father.
During the 1970s, he worked as Commercial Manager of a brass foundry in the Potteries.
Career statistics
Source:
Honours
Port Vale
*
Football League Third Division North:
1929–30
Charlton Athletic
*
Football League Third Division South:
1934–35
*
Football League Second Division second-place promotion:
1935–36
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakes, Jimmy
1902 births
1992 deaths
Footballers from Hanley, Staffordshire
English men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Port Vale F.C. players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. wartime guest players
Stoke City F.C. wartime guest players
English Football League players