James Cairney (13 July 1931 – 2018) was a Scottish 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 lea ...

who played as a half-back 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 York City, in Scottish junior football for

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

and Shawfield Juniors, in North America for Toronto Roma,

New York Ukrainians New York Ukrainians (Ukrainian Sports Club New York, ) is an American soccer club based in New York City. Ukrainian Americans, Ukrainians who settled in New York after World War II founded it. History The club was founded in 1947. Throughout its ...

and Hartford Italia and was on the books of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

without making a league appearance. In 1958, he played in Canada's

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

with the Polish White Eagles and was named to the All-Star team. He would play with league rivals Toronto Sparta for the 1959 season and once more was selected to the All-Star team. For the 1961 NSL season, Toronto Sparta was renamed, Toronto Roma. Cairney would play in the

Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. The league operated for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 across four cities in two Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Eastern Canada Professional ...

in 1962 when Toronto Roma became a member. He would re-sign with Toronto for the 1963 season. Jim Cairney was the brother of Scottish actor and writer

John Cairney John Cairney (16 February 1930 – 6 September 2023) was a Scottish stage, film and television actor who found fame through his one-man shows on Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Service, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and William McGo ...

. They were raised in the

Parkhead Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...

area of Glasgow (where his first club Strathclyde were based); the referee Tiny Wharton was a childhood acquaintance. Jim Cairney died in Canada in the summer of 2018.

References

1931 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Parkhead Scottish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Strathclyde F.C. players Shawfield F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players York City F.C. players Toronto Roma players English Football League players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Scottish expatriate men's footballers Canadian National Soccer League players Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub