James Alfred Blair (6 January 1918 – 1983) 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 ...

. A forward, he was the son of Scottish international Jimmy Blair, Sr. and brother of Doug Blair.

Career

Blair began his professional career with Cardiff City in the 1930s, but after failing to break into the ''Bluebirds'' first team, he was transferred to Joe Smith's

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in June 1935. He made his debut for the ''Tangerines'' in the third league game of the 1937–38 season, in a single-goal victory over Everton at Bloomfield Road on 4 September 1937. His strike partner, Bobby Finan, scored the goal. Blair went on to make a further twenty appearances in the league that campaign, scoring four goals in the process: two in a 4–2 victory at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on 16 September, one in a 4–2 defeat in the following game at home to Leicester City two days later, and one in a 2–1 victory at

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 ...

on 23 October. In 1938–39, Blair managed just four league appearances as Joe Smith tried out several partners for Bobby Finan. In the first full season after

World War II 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 ...

, 1946–47, Blair made twenty-five league appearances and scored four goals as Blackpool achieved a fifth-placed finish in Division One. One of his goals gave Blackpool both points against Chelsea at Bloomfield Road on 2 November 1946, while another helped them to a 3–2 victory over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, also at home, at the end of the month. Blair's final appearance for Blackpool occurred on 12 April 1947, in a 2–0 loss at home to Stoke City. It was his fiftieth league appearance for the club. Blair joined Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in 1947, and in two years with the south-coast club he made eighty league appearances and scored eight goals. In 1949, Blair joined Leyton Orient, with whom he made the most appearances and scored the most goals of his career: 104 league games and twenty-six goals. Blair's final two clubs were non-League outfits Ramsgate Athletic and Canterbury City.

International career

Blair won one cap for

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 ...

, on 19 October 1946, in a 3–1 defeat to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Blair had played for the Wales schoolboys team.

Death

Blair died in 1983, at the age of 65.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Jimmy 1918 births 1983 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Leyton Orient F.C. players Canterbury City F.C. players York City F.C. wartime guest players Ramsgate F.C. players Date of death missing English Football League players English football managers Ramsgate F.C. managers Men's association football forwards Footballers from Cardiff 20th-century Scottish sportsmen