James Montgomery McAlpine (28 June 1887 – October qtr. 1948) was a Scottish

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 for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the Southern League before playing for

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

clubs

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

and Gillingham.

Football career

Born in Dalziel, (

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

), McAlpine played for various local clubs, including

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 ...

where he was spotted by scouts from Southampton. Along with teammate Andrew Gibson, he signed for the Saints in May 1911 and was considered to be one of new manager George Swift's better signings. Swift was Southampton's first appointment as manager and promptly embarked on a spending spree, signing eleven players in six weeks. Playing alongside the ever-dependable

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard ...

, he became a virtual ever-present up to the suspension of football in 1915. According to Holley & Chalk's "The Alphabet of the Saints", McAlpine was "rather small for a left half, (but) made up for his lack of stature with a determined and forceful temperament that made him a firm favourite with the Saints crowd." During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he remained on Saints' books, but joined local shipbuilders

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

and turned out for their works football team, often against the Saints. He briefly returned to his native Scotland, playing for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

and Wishaw Thistle. After the war he moved to

where he was part of their first ever Football League side in 1920–21. In July 1921 he moved on to Gillingham for a couple of seasons before retiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAlpine, Jim 1887 births 1948 deaths Scottish men's footballers Southampton F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. wartime guest players Wishaw Thistle F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Southern Football League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Footballers from Motherwell Men's association football wing halves Scottish Junior Football Association players Strathclyde F.C. players Vale of Clyde F.C. players