Jim Sharkey (12 February 1934 – 19 October 2014) 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Career

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Sharkey played for

Haverhill Rovers Haverhill Rovers Football Club are a football club based in Haverhill, Suffolk, England. They are currently members of the and play at the New Croft. History The club was established in 1886. They joined the East Anglian League in 1906, and b ...

while on National Service. After playing for

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). Glencairn currently ...

, he signed for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in 1954, making his senior debut for them in October 1955. He later played for Airdrie and

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

, making a total of 123 appearances in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

for all three clubs. He later played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

in England for

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

, Wisbech Town, Corby Town,

Bury Town Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow. History Early history The club was established by William Lake at a meeti ...

, Newmarket Town, Sawston United and Girton.

Later life and death

After retiring as a player, Sharkey worked as a porter at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

. He died on 19 October 2014, at the age of 80.

References

1934 births 2014 deaths Scottish men's footballers Haverhill Rovers F.C. players Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Raith Rovers F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Wisbech Town F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players Newmarket Town F.C. players Sawston United F.C. players Scottish Football League players Men's association football forwards 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-forward-1930s-stub