James Richardson (1885 – August 1951) was a professional

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 ...

and manager, who played for

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

, Sunderland,

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

and

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

. Richardson joined Sunderland in 1912 and played there for two years, scoring a total of 31 goals over 45 appearances. In his first season with Sunderland he helped them win the league for the first time since the 1894–95 season and the last time until the 1935–36 season. He also played in the

1913 FA Cup Final The 1913 FA Cup Final was contested by Aston Villa and Sunderland on 19 April 1913 at London's Crystal Palace. Playing as the home side, Aston Villa won 1–0 on a goal by Tommy Barber on a crossed ball from Charlie Wallace. Wallace had ear ...

against Aston Villa, with Sunderland losing 1–0. In the 1914–15 season, while playing for Ayr United, Richardson was joint top goalscorer in the Scottish league, with a total of 29 goals. In 1916, Richardson went to fight in France during the Great War. He returned in 1918 with stomach troubles, but was well enough to join the first team again on 2 November 1918, scoring a hat-trick against Hibernian in a match that ended 5–0. After retiring as a player Richardson became a manager for several clubs including Ayr United and

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

. To this day, the 1924–25 season that Cowdenbeath played with Richardson as manager is still considered their greatest ever performance. For reasons unknown, despite having an incredible season, Richardson left the club after just one year as manager. After retiring from management, Richardson remained a fan of Ayr United and was spotted at the club as a supporter just a few months prior to his death in August 1951. He remains Ayr United's third highest goalscorer, despite having missed two seasons due to active service. On 4 January 1921, Ayr United held a testimonial match at

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Ayr United since they were founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr Parkhouse to form Ayr United. H ...

for Richardson, known amongst fans as "Jimmy's Day".

References

* 1885 births 1951 deaths Men's association football forwards Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League representative players Scottish men's footballers English Football League players Scotland men's wartime international footballers Ayr United F.C. managers Cowdenbeath F.C. managers Scottish football managers Scottish league football top scorers Military personnel from Glasgow People from Bridgeton, Glasgow Footballers from Glasgow Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Third Lanark A.C. players Ashfield United F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Mid-Annandale F.C. players British military personnel of World War I Scottish Football League managers {{Scotland-footy-forward-1880s-stub