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Fullname: James Wilson
aka: Jimmy Wilson
Born: 1894
Died: […]
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 18 Oct 1913; 15 Apr 1916 (again after a number of loan spells)
Left: Mar 1919 (to Albion Rovers)
Position: Half-back
Debut: Ayr Utd 0-1 Celtic, League, 2 Sep 1916
Internationals: none
Biog
Glasgow East-End boy James Wilson was signed by Celtic from Cambuslang Rangers in October 1913 and was to be a half-back in the defensive unit. Described by one as “gritty and keen” and a “rare player“.
Loan spells at Vale of Atholl and East Stirlingshire followed before he finally made his senior Celtic debut in a 1-0 league victory at Ayr United on 2nd September 1916. It was now wartime and times were changing especially with events in Ireland ramping up.
He was to be a regular in this season which saw Celtic win 1916-17 league title, in which he played a strong role in which he with his defensive colleagues conceded just 17 goals in the entire league campaign, and won the league title by 10pts. An incredible record at any period. Playing along with the legendary Holy Trinity of Dodds-Shaw-McNair helped, and possibly overshadowed Wilson’s efforts.
Celtic were on a long record unbeaten run too, ending on 21st Apr 1917, a run that last 62 league matches, 66 including Glasgow Cup and Glasgow Charity Cup games). So Jimmy Wilson deserves praise for his part in this.
He also helped Celtic to victory over Clyde in the Glasgow Cup final in a 3-2 victory, but there was no Scottish Cup in that season due to the war effort, so for that time James Wilson still managed to win the only possible league & cup double possible at that time.
James Wilson himself never scored for Celtic which emphasises how dedicated a defensive player he was as was the norm back then.
Despite being a regular in the 1916-17 title winning side, Wilson lost his place in the starting line-up for the following campaign which saw Rangers win the title by just the one point over Celtic. John McMaster and then Brown took over from James Wilson in the first team. Wilson’s role as a starter ended after a 2-0 victory over Third Lanark in Sep 1917, thereafter he only played sporadically.
Celtic still had a good defence going by the low tally of goals conceded that season but not as stellar as in 1916-17, so did losing Wilson dent Celtic’ title aspirations? A question that could be asked. In his favour, his last three games were nil-nil draws and Celtic only conceded six goals in the ten league matches he played in season 1917-18.
After a couple of loan spells he eventually moved to Albion Rovers in March 1919. Problem was that Celtic’s grip & monopoly on the league title was slipping, but James Wilson got to play at possibly the peak in football terms, and had an excellent record. Celtic were not again to be as dominant for around 45 years.
At Albion Rovers, he played in the Scottish Cup final of 1920 v Kilmarnock, which Albion Rovers lost 3-2 despite holding them to 1-1 at half-time to give them a glimmer of a hope for major honours. Albion Rovers had only returned to the single division Scottish League for the 1919-20 season. Although they finished rock bottom that season the club had enjoyed possibly their finest hour when they reached that aforementioned final of the Scottish Cup. The match was played in front of 95,000 spectators, at the time a record attendance for a club match in Scotland. Despite the defeat, a great moment for the Coatbridge club and a great experience for James Wilson to have played in.
Records indicate that he later moved to East Stirling before moving abroad to Kent Mills Soccer Club (Philadelphia, USA), becoming their player-coach in 1926.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1916-17 | 36 | – | – | – | 36 |
| Goals: | 0 | – | – | – | 0 |
| 1917-18 | 10 | – | – | – | 10 |
| Goals | 0 | – | – | – | 0 |
| Total |
46 |
– |
– |
– |
46 |
| Goals |
0 |
– |
– |
– |
0 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League