James Cannon (born 2 October 1953) is a Scottish retired

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 ...

. Along with several other promising young Scottish players he was signed as an apprentice for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in October 1970, by then manager Bert Head, having previously had a trial with Manchester City. He made a goalscoring debut on 31 March 1973 against

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 ...

and went on to make 660 appearances for the club, beating Terry Long's record in the 1984–85 season. A cultured centre half who could also play at left back or in midfield, he eventually left the club at the end of the 1987–88 season (15 seasons after his debut), having been captain for the previous ten seasons, and initially joined

Croydon F.C. Croydon Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Croydon, London. Until 2006, they played in the Isthmian League, but lost their place in that league as part of the 2006 re-structuring of non-league football, and n ...

and then in November 1988, Dartford. He also had a short spell with

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

before finishing his football career in 1994 after three seasons at

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

. In retirement he owned a building company ''ICS Builders'' in the

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

area, and managed Chipstead during the 2003–04 season. At the start of 2005–06 season onwards, he made a return to Palace, in the hospitality department, hosting the executive boxes at Selhurst Park on matchdays. In 2005, Cannon was voted into Palace's Centenary XI, and was only just pipped to "The Player of The Century" award by

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

. Wright would later claim that Cannon had bullied him and

Kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

kicked him in the back, Cannon disputed that account but admitted to giving Wright “a little slap”.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Jim 1953 births Scottish men's footballers Living people Crystal Palace F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Croydon F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Men's association football central defenders Footballers from Glasgow English Football League players English football managers Chipstead F.C. managers