James Daniel Ross (28 March 1866 – 12 June 1902) 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 le ...
who played as an
inside forward.
Born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, in the beginning of his career Ross played for Edinburgh's
St Bernard's; he came to prominence as part of the
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
team known as "
The Invincibles", who won 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 ...
during its
first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
seasons, the first one being a
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
of the league and 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 ...
.
Nicknamed the "Little Demon", Ross's older brother
Nick was also a footballer.
Career
Preston North End
Pre-League era (1883–1988)
Jimmy Ross came south to
Preston
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to:
Places
England
*Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
**The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
**County Boro ...
to join his famous elder brother
Nick. His debut for
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
happened by chance – he had to gone to
Padiham
Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...
on 24 November 1883 as a spectator to watch his brother play but, as the team were a couple of men short, he was invited to play. He scored two goals in North End's 4–0 win. Ross was a phenomenal goalscorer. In the four seasons up to the formation of the Football League in 1888, he scored over 250 goals in only 220 appearances, including in a
Lancashire Senior Cup final.
Born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, he was unlucky not to have been chosen for his country as the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
selectors only chose from players at clubs north of the border at the time. Ross formed a highly successful partnership up front for North End with England international
John Goodall. He scored seven goals against
Hyde United in a 26–0 win and six against
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
when North End won 18–0. Jimmy Ross appeared in the
1888 FA Cup Final
The 1888 FA Cup Final was contested by West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End at the Kennington Oval. Preston were strong favourites for the Cup, having set a record which still stands today by beating Hyde 26–0 in the first round, and wer ...
against
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 pla ...
which Preston North End lost 2–1.
Football League debut (1988–1894)
Ross made his League debut on 8 September 1888 as a forward for 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, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
at Preston North End's
Deepdale ground. Preston won 5–2 and Ross scored the third and fourth goals. On 13 October 1888, in a League match at Deepdale against
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 pla ...
, Ross scored in the 88th minute to put his team 3–0 up and became the first League player to score ten League goals.
Ross played in 21 of Preston's 22 League Championship matches and scored 19 goals, including four on 6 October 1888 at Deepdale against
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
in a 7–0 win. He also scored two on four occasions: on 8 September 1888 at Deepdale against Burnley, on 29 September 1888 at
County Ground in a 3–2 win against
Derby County, in a 5–2 win at
Pike's Lane over home team
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 ...
and in a 5–0 win at
Stoney Lane
Stoney Lane was a football ground in West Bromwich, England. It was the home ground of West Bromwich Albion from 1885 until 1900.
History
West Bromwich Albion moved to Stoney Lane in 1885 from their Four Acres ground in 1885. A 600-seat grandst ...
against home team West Bromwich Albion. Ross played in all five FA Cup ties for season 1888–89 and scored two goals including a goal in the Final at
Kennington Oval on 30 March 1889 against
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
; Preston North End won 3–0 to complete the first–ever League and FA Cup double.
Liverpool
In 1894 Ross was signed for
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 ...
by the club's manager
John McKenna for £75. He made his debut for his new club in a
Football League Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
match on 13 September 1894 and went on to score 12 times during the season, which ended with Liverpool being relegated. A prolific goalscorer in his time at Liverpool, Ross found the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
defences more to his liking managing to hit the net 23 times in 25 outings, spearheading the Reds charge back to the top tier. That season he came close to gaining international recognition when the SFA relaxed their rule on English players and he was selected for the first
Home Scots v Anglo-Scots
Home Scots v Anglo-Scots was an annual association football trial match organised by the Scottish Football Association between the 1890s and 1920s to examine the abilities of possible players for upcoming full British Home Championship internationa ...
trial match;
[Football. International Trial Matches.]
The Glasgow Herald, 26 March 1896 however no call-up to the full team resulted.
The
following season Liverpool managed to establish themselves in the
First Division, finishing 5th; he only scored twice in his 21 matches.
Burnley
After his short spell 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. ...
Ross was transferred out, signing for Second Division side
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, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
in March 1897. There he scored 29 goals in 51 games. Just prior to his arrival, Burnley had been relegated and with Ross's help, they gained promotion back to the First Division in the 1898 test matches, ending with a 0–0 draw against
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
, a scandal that ended test matches in English league football.
Manchester City
Later that year Ross joined
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 ...
, scoring 21 goals in 67 games there. Around the ''
fin de siècle'' the Football league decided to impose a maximum wage of £4 per week for professional football players. For a full-time player like Ross, able to play for wages of up to £10 a week, this was serious threat to their livelihood. To curb this threat, Ross and other top players of the time formed the
Association Footballers' Union
The Association Footballers' Union (the AFU), formed in England in 1898, was the first attempt by football players in the United Kingdom to organize themselves into a union.
The AFU was formed in response to the introduction by the Football Lea ...
.
Ross was forced to retire from football due to ill health after the 1900–01 season. He died on 12 June 1902, aged 36.
Career statistics
Honours
Preston North End
*
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 ...
:
1888–89,
1890–90
*
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 ...
:
1888–89 runner-up:
1887–88
Liverpool
*
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...
:
1895–96
Burnley
* Football League Second Division:
1897–98
Manchester City
* Football League Second Division:
1898–99
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Jimmy
Scottish footballers
English Football League players
First Division/Premier League top scorers
St Bernard's F.C. players
Preston North End F.C. players
Liverpool F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Footballers from Edinburgh
1866 births
1902 deaths
Association football inside forwards
FA Cup Final players