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Details
Title: Sunny Jim Young – Celtic Legend
Author: David Potter
Published: 18 Sep 2013
Player Homepage: Jim Young
Synopsis
A Kilmarnock man, he joined Celtic in 1903 from Bristol Rovers and was an integral part of the team which won six League Championships in a row from 1905–1910.
After becoming captain he led led the team to success in another three Championships between 1914 and 1916 before he suffered a bad injury which ended his career.
He was part of the mighty half-back line of Young, Loney and Hay which Celtic supporters talk about to this day, and was one of the great characters of Scottish football in the era before the Great War.
He also won the Scottish Cup on six occasions, but amazingly was only capped once by Scotland in a full International.
His death in 1922 in a motorcycling accident when he was only 40 plunged all of Scottish football into sadness.
Review
(Review by joebloggscity)
Books by David Potter are always a delight, and upfront I'll restate as I've said before in previous reviews, that I think that David Potter is the best writer on Celtic's history. He has written a large hoard of great books covering characters and eras from the club's history including on those who have been passed over by other writers.
Added to his long list of books is this new addition on Sunny Jim Young. This is a player who genuinely ranks as one of the greatest in our club's history and was very much in contention to becoming our manager. Yet due to his era occurring at the turn of the 20th Century, he is little known by the support in general and this book helps to nudge matters into the right direction.
As with anything written by David Potter, it is well written, slightly academic style but still accessible and readable. His books are always a fine retelling of the lives of many a player of whom we really mostly know little, and they are a wonderful overview without any need to resort to hagiography like other football biogs. That is a great talent.
The book is able to bring in some wonderful stories such as in the 5-0 win over Forfar in 1914 where Sunny Jim got assaulted by the mother of an opposition player with the gallas line of "Foul my Eckie wid ye, ye dirty Glesca bugger!", and the wonderful tale of Bobby Templeton who pulled the lion's tale.
What clearly stands out is the genuine love & pure dedication Sunny Jim had for Celtic, and this was thru what were some difficult times. Having been one of the first greats and being from a non-Irish background, it is important in a historical and social retrospective on the club. The author wonderfully ties in match reports, player anecdotes and social & political commentary to give us a vivid picture and impression of the time. Add in some great quotes, we get a good idea of the vernacular to give us a fuller picture.
It's hard to believe that there are many, if any others, who could have done as fine and personal a work as this on Sunny Jim.
Admittedly it can be a dry read but isn't as much as other historical books. If anything, it's good to have an escape from the tawdry celebrity tinted live of many modern footballers. Also, Jim Young was no maverick so the style matches the character.
Beyond that, only points of note are that there are a number of grammar & spelling errors, which is not characteristic of David Potter's books. Still it's a minor quibble.
It's another wonderful addition to David Potter's long line of books on sport (he's covered more than Celtic) and again this is well recommended by this reviewer.
Product Details
- Paperback 202 pages
- Publisher: JMD Media; First Edition edition (18 Sep 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1780913125
- ISBN-13: 978-1780913124
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 1.2 cm
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