James McBurney Feeney (23 June 1921 – March 1985) was a Northern Irish 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 ...

. During his career he made almost 100 appearances for

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

and over 200 appearances for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

. Feeney's

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

and grandson, both named Warren, later represented

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Club career

Born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Feeney began his career as a junior with

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

. After they withdrew from football in 1941 due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he moved to Linfield with whom he played throughout the war as a winger before moving to full back. He helped the side win three wartime league championships and

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...

's before moving to Swansea Town in December 1946. After several years at

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales, and was the home ground of Swansea City A.F.C. from the club’s founding until 2005. Following its closure, the club relocated to a newly constructed stadium, originally named the Libert ...

, Feeney was appointed team captain and led Swansea to the Division Three South title before moving to

in March 1950. He made over 200 appearances at

Portman Road Portman Road is a association football, football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one E ...

before retiring in April 1956. In 1957, he played abroad 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 Toronto Ulster United FC. The following season he served as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

for Ulster United. He re-signed with Toronto for the 1959 NSL season.

International career

Feeney represented Ireland twice in wartime internationals, later winning his first full cap on 27 November 1946 in a 0–0 draw with

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. His second and final cap came three years later in a 9–2 defeat to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the

1950 British Home Championship Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 f ...

Managerial career

Feeney was the

for Toronto Ulster United in 1958 and briefly served as the club's general manager. He was also named the

's All-Star head coach in 1958. In 1964, he was named the head coach for St. Andrews of the Ontario Soccer League. Following his time in Canada, Feeney returned to Northern Ireland, managing

Ards Ards (or ARDS, ARDs) may refer to: Medical * ARDS, Acute respiratory distress syndrome * ARDs, age-related diseases Places * Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland ** Ards (territory), several historical territorial divisions on the Ards Peninsula ...

' reserves.

References

External links

Jim Feeney at Pride of Anglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feeney, Jim 1921 births 1985 deaths Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Men's association football defenders Crusaders F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Toronto Ulster United players English Football League players Canadian National Soccer League players Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Jim Ireland (IFA) men's wartime international footballers Canadian National Soccer League coaches Association football managers from Northern Ireland NIFL Premiership players