James Bolcherson Payne (10 March 1926 – 22 January 2013)RIP the 'Merseyside Matthews'
was a professional footballer, and one of a select number of players to have played for both

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and Everton.

Life and playing career

Born

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, Payne was a boyhood Everton fan, but it was with local rivals

that an 18-year-old Payne signed his first professional contract in 1944, and it was here that he spent the majority of his career. From his debut in 1948 to his departure in 1956 he made 244 appearances as a skilful right-winger. Payne's, belated, debut came on 11 September 1948 when the 22-year-old started on the right wing at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

who returned to

Burnden Park Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup Final replay, it was the scene in 1946 of one of the greatest disasters in English footba ...

with the 2 points after a 1–0 victory, his first goal came a month later, again, in a league match at Anfield, this time

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 ...

were the visitors and took a point back to

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

after a 1-1, they 3 minutes away from taking both the points away with them but Payne's late reply saved Liverpool's blushes. Jimmy appeared in all of Liverpool's 6

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 ...

matches during their 1950 run to their first

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

final including a 2-0 Semi-final victory over

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

rivals Everton at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...

Manchester 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 t ...

. Payne got the nod to start the 7th match, the showcase final on 29 April against

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 ...

. Payne would have probably bettered his tally that but for injuries in his latter years. In April 1956 he moved to the club he supported as a boy, Everton, for a fee of around £3,000but after only 6 games injuries forced him to retire still short of his 30th birthday. Jimmy became a newsagent upon retirement. M Never selected at senior level for England, Payne did appear for his country at B level.

Career detail

*Liverpool F.C. (1944–1956) - 243 appearances, 43 goals - FA Cup runners-up medal (1950) *Everton F.C (1956) - 6 appearances

References

External links

*
Profile
a
LFCHistory.net
1926 births 2013 deaths Association football wingers English footballers Everton F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Sportspeople from Bootle English Football League players FA Cup Final players {{England-footy-midfielder-1920s-stub