Jimmy Sandison (born 22 June 1965) is a Scottish former
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 ...
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
.
Career
Sandison was brought up in the Pennywell area of Edinburgh and attended school locally. He signed for Hearts at the age of 17. During his time with Hearts he was a reliable and versatile player. A highlight was his man-marking
Herbert Prohaska
Herbert Prohaska (; born 8 August 1955) is an Austrian former professional footballer. He ranks among Austria's greatest football players of all time. Prohaska works as a football pundit for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ( ORF). His nick ...
, who was one of Europe's finest players at the time, out of the game in a European tie against
Austria Vienna
Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...
. The ''Jam Tarts'' won 1–0 in Austria.
He was purchased for £100,000 in 1991 by Airdrie manager Alex McDonald, who had been his manager at Hearts. Sandison was McDonald's first signing and was also made team captain. Soon after his move to Airdrie, Sandison was at the centre of a controversial refereeing decision in a
1991–92 Scottish League Cup
The 1991–92 Scottish League Cup was the 46th staging of Scotland's second most prestigious football knockout competition. The competition was sponsored by Skol and was also known as the Skol Cup.
The competition was won by Hibs, who defeated ...
semi final. The referee awarded a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
to the opposition,
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...
, for handball by Sandison. The decision was greeted with amazement amongst many as Sandison had neither handled the ball nor been inside the box.
He led the side for the entire decade he was there, wearing the armband in every single competitive game he played bar one. He captained the side throughout their
1991–92 Scottish Cup
The 1991–92 Scottish Cup was the 107th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Rangers who defeated Airdrieonians in the final.
First round
Replay
Second round
Replays
Third round
R ...
run, but missed the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
due to suspension. Sandison was however captain during their only appearance in European competition as the Diamonds took part in the
1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup
The 1992–93 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Parma in the final against Royal Antwerp. Both were first time finalists in the competition, and Antwerp were the last Belgian side to reach a European final up to the present day. T ...
. "Skip" as he was affectionately known to his teammates also captained them in the
1995 Scottish Cup Final
The 1995 Scottish Cup Final was played between Celtic and Airdrieonians at Hampden Park on 27 May 1995.
Celtic won the match 1–0, with a goal by Pierre van Hooijdonk who headed in after a cross from the left by Tosh McKinlay. This would prov ...
. He is held as a cult hero in Airdrie for being the leader and backbone of some of the club's very best years. During this time Sandison had the reputation as being a technically gifted sweeper who was hard but fair and a player who was a true leader with a never say die attitude.
After Airdrie were liquidated, Sandison went on, in the latter part of his career, to play for Stenhousemuir, under former chairman at Airdrie, George Peat. Sandison later went on to manage Bo'ness Junior team for three reasonably successful years between 2003 and 2006.
In the
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...
novel
Marabou Stork Nightmares
''Marabou Stork Nightmares'' is an experimental novel by Irvine Welsh, and his second novel, published in the UK in 1995.
The book's narrative is split into two styles: a conventional first-person account of the past and a more surreal, stream ...
, the character Sandy Jamieson is based on Sandison. Furthermore, in Welsh's book
Trainspotting
Trainspotting may refer to:
* Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads
* ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh
** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel
*** ''Trainspotting'' (soundtr ...
, one of the main characters reads a newspaper in which Sandison is on the back page of.
He now still resides in Edinburgh with his wife Karen and son C.J. He works as a black cab driver in Edinburgh as well as doing media and ambassadorial work for his former club Hearts. He is also one of the hierarchy of the 1874 Fighting Fund, who helped stave off liquidation from Hearts and who are now the main fundraising group in support of the new regime after the club exited administration. More so he is captain of the Hearts legends team which includes players such as
John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to:
Politicians United Kingdom politicians
* J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918
*John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...
,
Gary Locke
Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat serving as the interim president of Bellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. Locke serv ...
and Henry Smith. He was also inducted into the Airdrie Hall of fame in 2005.