James Costley (Liverpool Q1 1862 – Q1 1931 in Blackburn) was an English

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 lea ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for Everton. James Costley, although from Merseyside, signed for

Blackburn Olympic Blackburn Olympic Football Club was an English football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire in the late 19th century. Although the club was only in existence for just over a decade, it is significant in the history of football in England as the ...

in 1879. Blackburn Olympic never played League Football and majored on the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. Their two successful seasons (and Costley was involved) were 1882–83 and 1883–84. In 1882–83 Blackburn Olympic reached the Final. The date was 31 March 1883 and the venue was

Kennington Oval Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

. Blackburn Olympic played the FA Cup holders,

Old Etonians This is a list of notable former pupils of Eton College, a 13–18 public fee-charging and boarding secondary school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, England. Former pupils of the school are known as Old Etonians. Former pupils Politics *Robert ...

and beat them 2–1, Costley scoring Olympic's second and winning goal. Costley played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. The following season, 1883–84, Olympic, as holders, took the defence of the Cup to the semi–final. The match was played at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...

on 1 March 1884 against Queen's Park (Glasgow). Olympic were hoping to win and play their local rivals,

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

who played in, and won, the other semi–final. However, Olympic were outclassed by their Scottish opponents and lost 4–0. Costley was signed by Everton from Blackburn Olympic in 1886 and was described as a skilful winger and superb dribbler. He did very well in his first two seasons scoring 22 goals from 59 appearances. However, once League football arrived at Anfield he could no longer hold a regular place in the team. Costley made his League debut, playing as a winger at County Ground on 20 October 1888, the then home of

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. The visitors won 4–2 and Costley, on his League debut scored both Everton's opening goals to put his team 2–0 ahead before half–time. Costley appeared in six of the 22 league matches played by Everton in the 1888–89 season and scored three goals. Costley was released by Everton in May 1889. He died during the first quarter of 1931 in Blackburn aged 68/69.

References

1862 births 1931 deaths English men's footballers Everton F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Liverpool {{England-footy-forward-1860s-stub