James Waugh (12 August 1898 – 26 March 1968) was an English

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 a centre half. Born in the village of

Chopwell Chopwell is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, west of Rowlands Gill and north of Hamsterley, Consett, Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395. In 1150, Hugh de Puiset, Bishop Puds ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, Waugh began his career as an amateur with Durham City before spending a brief spell representing his home town club of

Chopwell Colliery Chopwell Colliery was a coal mine situated at Chopwell, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. The pit was first sunk in 1781, and was closed on 25 November 1966. The colliery was bought by the Consett Iron Company in 1896, before being handed over to the ...

at the start of 1921. It was while at Chopwell that Waugh was spotted by

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 ...

club Sheffield United who signed both Waugh and fellow defender

Bill Sampy William Albert Sampy (22 January 1901 – 1973) was an English footballer who played as a right back. Career Sampy was playing for local side Chopwell Colliery when he was signed by league side Sheffield United in May 1921. United paid £250 fo ...

for a joint fee of £250 in April 1921. Waugh made a slow start to his career with the Blades and did not begin to feature regularly until November 1922, from which point he missed only one of the following 103 first team matches. Waugh was considered to lack pace and this caused him problems from 1925 when the offside rule was changed. A neck injury prevented Waugh from playing in the

1925 FA Cup Final The 1925 FA Cup Final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United and Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the ...

and after a run of games at the start of the 1925–26 season he lost his place in the side to

Seth King Seth King (14 February 1897 – 8 February 1958) was an English footballer who played as a defender in The Football League. Born in Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, he began his career as an amateur playing for his local church te ...

. Despite being selected for the FA tour of Canada in the summer of 1926, Waugh was unable to reclaim his place in United's starting eleven and was eventually transferred to

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

in January 1927 after having made 143 appearances for the Blades and scored three goals. A success at his new club, Waugh was a regular member of the match day team until 1933, including being ever present during the 1929–30 season. Waugh was part of the coaching staff at Darlington for much of his time there and took up a full-time coaching position once he retired from playing. With his career nearing an end, Sheffield United played a benefit match for Waugh in April 1932 and he later returned to the club to act as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

from 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waugh, Jimmy 1898 births 1968 deaths Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Durham City A.F.C. players Chopwell Colliery F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Darlington F.C. players English Football League players Darlington F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff