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Personal
Fullname: James Boyle
aka: Jimmy Boyle
Born: 11 July 1866
Died: […]
Birthplace: Springburn
Signed: 1890
Left: Mar 1893
Position: Inside-Right
Debut: Celtic 3-2 St Mirren, League, 7 Feb 1891 [*see note]
Internationals: none
Biog![[Untitled]](https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/00f076bcbc37c4adea388576e99ab2ef "[Untitled]")
Forward James Boyle signed for Celtic in 1890.
The Glasgow-born player moved to the ambitious new Bhoys from Towerhill. He made a scoring debut on February 7th 1891 in a 3-2 home victory over St Mirren.
He won a Glasgow Cup medal when Celtic beat Third Lanark 4-0 at 2nd Hampden on St Valentine’s Day 1891, the first ‘major’ trophy (as it was regarded as such in those days) ever brought back to Celtic. A proud achievement for the then young club, and a fine mark for Jimmy Boyle albeit this being the only match in that run that he had played in.
He was to play for the first team in a concurrent run from Feb-Apr 1891 with a solitary league appearance v Leith Athletic in Apr 1892.
He left Celtic for neighbours Clyde in 1893 after making a total of 8 league appearances and played in one Glasgow Cup match.
As an engineer by profession, he moved to Woolwich (likely to work in one of the factories there) and later played for Woolwich Arsenal, the precursors to the modern Arsenal club.
He captained Woolwich Arsenal in a friendly against Celtic at the Manor Field Plumstead on 15 Feb 1897, but then left for Dartford.
*Note: Some records put his debut as being a 3-1 away win against Vale of Leven, but some reports from that time state otherwise that he didn’t play in the match, so we have it that he did not play in the Vale of Leven match. Records in those early days weren’t as well managed as they later were to be.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1890-1893 | 8 | 0 | n/a | n/a | 8 |
| Goals: | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 |
Honours with Celtic
Glasgow Cup
- 1891
Pictures
Articles
James (Jimmy) Boyle, played both centre half and in goal for Arsenal
James Boyle was born on 11 July 1886 in Springburn, Glasgow and started out playing for Towerhill – a team the for whom the only reference to which I can find is an entry for them playing in the 1876/7 Scottish cup.
In 1890 he signed for Celtic and played his first game against Vale of Leven on 24 January 1891. He scored for Celtic for the first time on February 7 1891. He also won a cup medal when he played in the Glasgow Cup Final in 1891, Celtic’s first major honour.
It is said in some references that he left Celtic and joined Clyde in 1893 after making just nine appearances at inside right but later that year he moved south. But at this point there are contradictions in the account of his career, Arsenal saying he came straight from Celtic in November 1893.
Either way he seems to have been one of the many engineers who travelled south looking for work at the Woolwich factories and he played for Arsenal for the first time on 9 December 1893 against Northwich Victoria (away). This was the club’s first away point in the league, and Jimmy Boyle scored. He wore number 9 that day (this making another contradiction as he is referred to primarily as an inside right in some quarters. He rarely played that position for Arsenal).
After the Northwich game he had a period out of the first team, but then returned for the last nine games of the season at centre half. That gives him ten appearances in his first season although Arsenal FC’s site states 11.
The following season he retained the number five shirt playing 28 league games and scoring three goals, as well as playing in the club’s single FA Cup match that season.
1895/6 however must have been a strange campaign. Boyle started out at left half, moved back to the centre, and then for three games played in goal, becoming on 14 December 1895 the fourth goalkeeper in 15 matches for the club, two of the others (Amber and Hatfield) getting but one game each prior to Boyle’s three. Arsenal then brought in Fairclough in goal for the remainder of the season. Jimmy Boyle got two more outfield games that season, one at right half, one at centre half.
1896/7 saw him get 13 games and score twice playing again mostly at centre half but twice at inside left. Overall he scored nine goals in 66 matches Arsenal. On 15 February 1897 he captained Woolwich Arsenal in a friendly against Celtic but thereafter left to join Dartford.
After his move to Dartford we have no record of James Boyle, one of the few men to play both in goal and outfield for Arsenal. Any further information would be welcome.