James Holmes (27 December 1908 – 1 November 1971) 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 lea ...

who played as a defender. Born in

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in the West Lancashire district of England. It sits on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, north-east of Liverpool and south-west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known l ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Holmes had trial spells with both

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Wigan Borough Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and Town having folded. Beginnings According to the Wigan Ob ...

in 1925 but was an employed as a miner and playing for local side Prescot Cables when he was spotted by Chesterfield in 1930. Signed by Chesterfield in May of that year, Holmes remained with the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

club for just one season before being signed by Division One side

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

in May 1931 for £1,750. Making his debut for United in October 1931 in an away fixture at

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, Holmes became a regular in the Blades defence for the next four years. Holmes was regarded as a robust and tough tackling defender with a fiery temper, highlighted when a referee ruled out a goal Holmes had scored, only for the defender to pick up the official and "shake him like a dog would a rat" according to press reports. Having missed very few fixtures, Holmes was sidelined by injury at the start of the 1935–36 season and was replaced by Tom Johnson. Despite Holmes regaining his fitness, Johnson's impressive form meant that by December 1935 he was firmly established as first choice, resulting in Holmes making only occasional appearances from then on. In May 1936 Holmes moved to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for £750 where he played for a season, before joining

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in July 1937. Holmes remained with the club following the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but having made two guest appearances for his former club Chesterfield in 1940, he retired from playing and returned to his former profession as a miner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Jimmy 1908 births 1971 deaths People from Skelmersdale English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Chesterfield F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Reading F.C. players English Football League players Prescot Cables F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen