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Note: There has been more than one player with the same name to have played for Celtic. So please check the other namesakes if need be.
Personal
Fullname: James B Murphy
aka: James Murphy, Jim Murphy
Born: 20 September 1897
Died: […]
Birthplace: Possil
Signed: 3 July 1920
Left: 7 August 1923 (to Clydebank)
Position: Full-back, defender
Debut: Celtic 1-0 Partick Thistle, League, 11 Dec 1920
Internationals: none
Biog
Said to be “Perthshire’s stylish half-back“, Jim Murphy was signed for Celtic after having served for the Royal Scots Fusiliers in World War One. He was “one of Celtic’s coming men” in 1920/21.
A “keen tackler of the never-tiring order.. He can trap, kick a ball in any position and is a feeder of the first degree… he seldom wastes a ball… pushes it along the carpet.. a dandy passer“.
On his debut, he was said to have “displayed all the coolness of an experienced player” and was a regular anywhere in defence during the 1920/21 season but it never wholly worked out for him into the long-run.
Managed to play in the Glasgow Charity Cup semi-final but not the final which would have won him a medal in a cup final.
He played in a sparse number of games in 1921/22, when Celtic won the league title, so respect to him for that and won him a major piece of silverware.
He seemed to lose out after a 1-1 draw with Rangers in Oct 1921, where thereafter he played little again for the first team, being in & out the side. He likely had a right to be counter this as upto the aforementioned Rangers game, the defense had little conceded in the matches he had played in. For the record of the season as a whole, the defence actually did concede very little in the matches he played in.
He had a run of games in the middle of season 1922/23, but the results were poor with three defeats in six games, including a 4-1 loss to Ayr. After a 2-0 defeat by Rangers in 1923 it was asked “Is Murphy of the Celtic not just a trifle too cool at times?“.
He first left on loan in January 1923 to Clydebank, but the move was criticised at the time by some who retorted it cut the squad down to a minimum and he could have been kept on. He was then retained permanently in a full transfer to Clydebank in August 1923. He’d hardly played for the first team for a long time, so maybe it was time to move on.
Celtic had begun to falter in the league, and it is all academic if retaining James Murphy could have made a difference. In any case, James Murphy he had a fine record to look back on and a deserved league winners medal, and he had also helped win the reserves Alliance league title too.
He only remained at Clydebank for a further season before moving onto Glasgow Perthshire.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1920-23 | 35 | 3 | n/a | n/a | 38 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League