James McMenamin (11 October 1880 – 23 June 1965), was a Scottish footballer who most notably played for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

from 1902 to 1920 and later served as

assistant manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

in the 1930s. He has been described by the club as ''"a true Celtic legend"''.

Early life

James was born in

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

, Lanarkshire, on 11 October 1880 to John McMenamin and Hannah Regan; his father adopted the name 'McMenamin' after he moved to Scotland from

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

. John's brother, also called James, settled in Rutherglen during the same period with his wife Ann Smith but maintained the traditional spelling 'McMenemy'. This – and also due to the player himself using both styles – has led to some mis-attributing of the player's date of birth to that of his cousin (James McMenemy, born at Rutherglen on 23 August 1880).

Playing career

Club

McMenemy began his career playing for local

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teams Cambuslang Hibernian and Rutherglen Glencairn, winning the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compete ...

and

Glasgow Junior League The Glasgow Junior Football League (GJL) was a football league competition operated under the Scottish Junior Football Association between 1895 and 1927.

double with the latter in 1902, alongside

Alec Bennett Alec Bennett (1897–1973) was an Irish-Canadian motorcycle racer famous for motorcycle Grand Prix wins and five career wins at the Isle of Man TT races. Biography A native of Craigantlet in Ireland's County Down, Bennett emigrated with his pa ...

. In June 1902, aged 21, he joined

, where he would become a mainstay in the side for the next two decades. Nicknamed "Napoleon" by manager

Willie Maley William Patrick Maley (25 April 1868 – 2 April 1958) was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football histor ...

due to his strategic and leadership qualities and calmness, as well as an apparent resemblance to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, he was also said to be ''"a master of the deceptive movement"'' who ''"seldom troubled himself with the physical side of the game – he had no need."'' He made his debut on 29 September 1902 against Hearts, scoring for the first time in a 3–0 win over Port Glasgow Athletic two months later. One of his first important actions was away from the pitch when he successfully persuaded Bennett to join him at the club; the pair would form Celtic's first famous forward line, along with

Davie Hamilton David Hamilton (31 January 1882 – 25 January 1950) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside left (winger). He played for Celtic for ten years between 1902 and 1912. Career Club Born in Glasgow, Hamilton played for junior side Ca ...

(another former Cambuslang Hibs player), Jimmy Quinn and

Peter Somers Peter Somers (3 June 1878 – 27 November 1914) was a Scottish footballer who played as an inside forward for Celtic,

McMenemey was in the team that defeated Rangers 3–2 in the 1904 Scottish Cup final after being down 2–0, and also played and opened the scoring in a playoff match against the same opposition to decide the 1904–05 league title. It would be the first of six league titles in a row between 1905 and season 1909–10, with Celtic also securing two further

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, On the eve of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in season 1913–14, the club were again crowned champions and Cup winners. This team, including new stars

Patsy Gallacher Patrick Gallacher (16 March 1891 – 17 June 1953) was an Irish footballer, playing in the inside-right position, and most noted for his career at Celtic - he is one of the club's leading goalscorers of all time. Early life Patsy was born in ...

, Jimmy McColl and Andy McAtee plus survivors from the earlier successful squad such as

Alec McNair Alexander McNair (24 December 1882 – 18 November 1951) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a defender for Celtic for 21 years and represented the Scotland national team in 15 official internationals between 1906 and 192 ...

and 'Sunny Jim' Young would win a further three titles, and set a sequence of 62 league games unbeaten (65 including the minor

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...

and

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cup ...

) which would not be surpassed for a century. McMenemy, now in his mid-30s, was one of the Celtic players who worked in

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, w ...

s during the conflict – in his case manufacturing munitions – so was not called to frontline action and able to continue to playing football whenever possible (in summer 1918 he was due to be called up, with one brother having been killed and another wounded on the battlefield, but fell ill with

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

and did not leave Scotland before the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

in November of that year). A teammate, Peter Johnstone, was one of those did perish on the Western Front. Prior to season 1918–19, 38-year-old McMenemy retired from playing, only to return to Celtic by the halfway point of the season, where he was restored to the line-up and helped secure another Scottish League title, his eleventh overall. He also won six

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

against

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

), an equally impressive total considering the trophy was withheld in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

and five editions were not contested during the war. McMenemy made 515 appearances for Celtic in the League and Scottish Cup, scoring 166 goals. In Celtic's all-time records, he ranks in sixth place for league appearances and seventh for league goals. He is also the club's oldest goalscorer (39 years, 56 days v

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

, 6 December 1939) and third-oldest player (39 years, 194 days vs St Mirren, 22 April 1920). In June 1920, McMenemy left Celtic and joined

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

where, in April 1921, aged, 40, he helped them to their one and only Scottish Cup victory, beating Rangers 1–0 in the final which was held at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

. He played on at

Firhill Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...

for two more years, retiring in 1923.

International

McMenemy played 12 times for the Scotland national team, scoring five goals, and also represented the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

14 times, scoring twice. At the age of 40 he also took part in a 1921 summer tour of North America as a member of 'Third Lanark Scotland XI' (organised by

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

and composed of players from seven different clubs); he was reunited with old teammate and rival Alec Bennett who thereafter became the ''Thirds'' manager.

Coaching and later life

After retiring from playing, McMenemy spent some years away from football and spent time as a

publican In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...

. He came back to Partick Thistle as a coach, then in 1934 returned to Celtic as trainer assisting Willie Maley (the same manager who had brought him to the club three decades earlier), helping players such as

Jimmy Delaney James Delaney (3 September 1914 – 26 September 1989) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right. He had a 24-year playing career interrupted by World War II, his longest spells at club level were spent with Celtic in Scotland and ...

and

Willie Buchan William Ralston Murray Buchan (17 October 1914 – 6 July 2003) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He played for Celtic, Blackpool, Hull City, Gateshead, Coleraine and East Stirlingshire. Buchan signed professional fo ...

to develop and taking charge of the squad which won the

Empire Exhibition Trophy The Empire Exhibition Trophy was a football competition held in 1938 in conjunction with the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 in Glasgow. It was held to commemorate the Exhibition, then underway in Bellahouston Park, and the prize was a solid si ...

in 1938, having already secured that year's League title. Maley retired in 1940, however McMenemy was not chosen to succeed him, the role instead going to

Jimmy McStay James McStay (1 April 1895 – 31 December 1973) was a Scottish football player and manager. He spent most of his career at Celtic, and was a captain and manager for the club. Career A full back (successfully converted from left half by ma ...

. By then the world was again at war, and McMenemy and Celtic parted company. He died in Glasgow in 1965.

Legacy

In 2010, a selection of McMenemy's medals, Scotland caps and other memorabilia was sold at auction for £3,500. In 2013, the ''

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

won the Scottish Cup with Celtic in 1927 – just six years after his father's last win – and the Scottish League Championship with

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

;

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

played for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

where he won 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 ...

;

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

played for

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

and

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 ...

; and both James (

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, t ...

) and Joe (

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

) were prominent junior players but did not play at the professional level. Joe McMenemy is also credited with saving the sister of Sean Fallon from drowning during a holiday in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

, after which the families became acquainted; Fallon would go on to serve Celtic as a player and coach for many years.

Lawrie McMenemy Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war English ...

, the former manager of Southampton and many other teams, is a distant relation of the family.

Honours

;Rutherglen Glencairn *

: 1901–02 *

Glasgow Junior League The Glasgow Junior Football League (GJL) was a football league competition operated under the Scottish Junior Football Association between 1895 and 1927.

: 1901–02 ;Celtic *

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

(11): 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1918–19 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1903–04, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1913–14 **Finalist: 1908–09 *

(8): 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1919–20 : Glasgow Charity Cup (10): 1902–03, 1904–05, 1907–08, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1917–18, 1919–20 * War Fund Shield: 1917–18 * Budapest Cup: 1914 ;Partick Thistle *Scottish Cup: 1920–21 ;Scotland *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

(2): 1909–10, 1911–12 (shared)

Notes

References

External links

*
London Hearts profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcmenemy, Jimmy 1880 births 1965 deaths Association football forwards Sportspeople from Rutherglen Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish footballers Celtic F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scotland international footballers Scotland wartime international footballers Scottish Junior Football Association players Cambuslang Hibernian F.C. players Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. non-playing staff Celtic F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Jimmy Footballers from South Lanarkshire