James Eadie Gordon (23 July 1888 – 22 November 1954) 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 ...

who spent most of his career with Rangers. During the

First World War 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 ...

, he was a Sergeant in the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fus ...

Career

Born in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Gordon played with juvenile side Thornwood Athletic and

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

club Renfrew Victoria (being selected for the Scotland team at that level) before joining Rangers during the 1906–07 season. He stayed with the Ibrox club until 1920, playing 315 Scottish Football League games and winning five championships in the process (388 appearances including all cups of the time). Versatile enough to play in any position on the pitch, he did just that playing in goals, in defence, in midfield and up front for Rangers. His favoured role was

right-half A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

and this was the position he occupied most during his international career with the Scotland national team, which extended to ten

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between 1912 and 1920. Gordon 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, played in four unofficial wartime internationals and took part in an unofficial Scottish tour of North America in 1921. Gordon "guested" for Fulham and Hearts during

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 ...

and joined

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 ...

when he finally left Rangers in 1920. After his playing retirement, he and former Rangers colleague

Jimmy Galt James Hill Galt (11 August 1885 – 17 November 1935) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a left half for Rangers and Everton. Club career Galt played with Rangers for eight years between 1906 and 1914. He made 240 appearanc ...

ran a series of billiard halls. He was included in the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame on 5 February 2007.

References

External links

Rangers Hall of Fame profile
* 1888 births 1954 deaths Scottish military personnel Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Scotland wartime international footballers Rangers F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Highland Light Infantry soldiers British Army personnel of World War I People from Saltcoats Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Footballers from North Ayrshire Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Heart of Midlothian F.C. wartime guest players Association football midfielders Association football utility players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scotland junior international footballers Renfrew Victoria F.C. players {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1880s-stub

Career

See also

References

External links