James Daniel Ross (28 March 1866 – 12 June 1902) 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 played as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, in the beginning of his career Ross played for Edinburgh's St Bernard's; he came to prominence as part of the Preston North End team known as " The Invincibles", who won the Football League during its

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and second seasons, the first one being a double of the league and 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 ...

. Nicknamed the "Little Demon", Ross's older brother

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

was also a footballer.

Career

Preston North End

Pre-League era (1883–1988)

Jimmy Ross came south to Preston to join his famous elder brother

. His debut for Preston North End happened by chance – he had to gone to

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...

on 24 November 1883 as a spectator to watch his brother play but, as the team were a couple of men short, he was invited to play. He scored two goals in North End's 4–0 win. Ross was a phenomenal goalscorer. In the four seasons up to the formation of the Football League in 1888, he scored over 250 goals in only 220 appearances, including in a

Lancashire Senior Cup The Lancashire County Football Association Cup (commonly known as the Lancashire Senior Cup) is a football knockout tournament involving teams from Lancashire, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Lancashire County Football Associatio ...

final. Born in

, he was unlucky not to have been chosen for his country as the Scottish Football Association selectors only chose from players at clubs north of the border at the time. Ross formed a highly successful partnership up front for North End with England international

John Goodall John Goodall (19 June 1863 – 20 May 1942) was a footballer who rose to fame as a centre forward for England and for Preston North End at the time of the development of the Football League, and also became Watford's first manager in 1903. He ...

. He scored seven goals against

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

when North End won 18–0. Jimmy Ross appeared in the

1888 FA Cup Final The 1888 FA Cup Final was contested by West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End at the Kennington Oval. Preston were strong favourites for the Cup, having set a record which still stands today by beating Hyde 26–0 in the first round, and wer ...

against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

which Preston North End lost 2–1.

Football League debut (1988–1894)

Ross made his League debut on 8 September 1888 as a forward for against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

at Preston North End's

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...

ground. Preston won 5–2 and Ross scored the third and fourth goals. On 13 October 1888, in a League match at Deepdale against

, Ross scored in the 88th minute to put his team 3–0 up and became the first League player to score ten League goals. Ross played in 21 of Preston's 22 League Championship matches and scored 19 goals, including four on 6 October 1888 at Deepdale against Stoke in a 7–0 win. He also scored two on four occasions: on 8 September 1888 at Deepdale against Burnley, on 29 September 1888 at County Ground in a 3–2 win against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

, in a 5–2 win at

Pike's Lane Pike's Lane was a football ground in Bolton, England. It was the home ground of Bolton Wanderers between 1880 and 1895, and the venue of the first goal scored in league football anywhere in the world. History Pike's Lane opened in 1880, with th ...

over home team Bolton Wanderers and in a 5–0 win at Stoney Lane against home team West Bromwich Albion. Ross played in all five FA Cup ties for season 1888–89 and scored two goals including a goal in the Final at

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

on 30 March 1889 against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

; Preston North End won 3–0 to complete the first–ever League and FA Cup double.

Liverpool

In 1894 Ross was signed for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

by the club's manager

John McKenna John McKenna ( ga, Seán Mac Cionnaoith; 3 January 1855 – 22 March 1936) was an Irish businessman, professional rugby player, and the first manager of the Liverpool Football Club which has since gone on to become one of the most successful ...

for £75. He made his debut for his new club in a Football League Division One match on 13 September 1894 and went on to score 12 times during the season, which ended with Liverpool being relegated. A prolific goalscorer in his time at Liverpool, Ross found the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

defences more to his liking managing to hit the net 23 times in 25 outings, spearheading the Reds charge back to the top tier. That season he came close to gaining international recognition when the SFA relaxed their rule on English players and he was selected for the first Home Scots v Anglo-Scots trial match;Football. International Trial Matches.
The Glasgow Herald, 26 March 1896 however no call-up to the full team resulted. The following season Liverpool managed to establish themselves in the First Division, finishing 5th; he only scored twice in his 21 matches.

Burnley

After his short spell at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

Ross was transferred out, signing for Second Division side

in March 1897. There he scored 29 goals in 51 games. Just prior to his arrival, Burnley had been relegated and with Ross's help, they gained promotion back to the First Division in the 1898 test matches, ending with a 0–0 draw against Stoke, a scandal that ended test matches in English league football.

Manchester City

Later that year Ross joined Manchester City, scoring 21 goals in 67 games there. Around the ''

fin de siècle () is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context, ...

'' the Football league decided to impose a maximum wage of £4 per week for professional football players. For a full-time player like Ross, able to play for wages of up to £10 a week, this was serious threat to their livelihood. To curb this threat, Ross and other top players of the time formed the

Association Footballers' Union The Association Footballers' Union (the AFU), formed in England in 1898, was the first attempt by football players in the United Kingdom to organize themselves into a union. The AFU was formed in response to the introduction by the Football L ...

. Ross was forced to retire from football due to ill health after the 1900–01 season. He died on 12 June 1902, aged 36.

Career statistics

Honours

Preston North End * Football League: 1888–89, 1890–90 *

: 1888–89 runner-up: 1887–88 Liverpool *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1895–96 Burnley * Football League Second Division: 1897–98 Manchester City * Football League Second Division: 1898–99

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Jimmy Scottish footballers English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers St Bernard's F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Footballers from Edinburgh 1866 births 1902 deaths Association football inside forwards FA Cup Final players