James Ferrier Easson (3 January 1906 – 20 May 1983) 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 ...

who played as an

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the rol ...

for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

in the

English 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

, helping them reach the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...

. He also made three appearances for the

Scotland national team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

Football career

Easson was born in

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

and played for various Scottish junior clubs, including

Carnoustie Carnoustie (; sco, Carnoustie, gd, Càrn Ùstaidh) is a town and former police burgh in the subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the UK census 2011, 2011 ce ...

and East Craigie before joining Dundee. Portsmouth's Scottish scouts recommended him to manager

Jack Tinn John William Tinn (20 January 1878 - 13 March 1971) was an English football manager. He managed South Shields in the early 1920s and Portsmouth from 1927 until 1947. Career Tinn became manager of South Shields in 1919, the year they were elec ...

and he came south in 1928. He moved to the south coast of England in 1928 to join

, then becoming established in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...

. He made his debut for the first-team in a 0–0 draw against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...

in May 1929, shortly after "Pompey" had been defeated in the

1929 FA Cup Final The 1929 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth on 27 April 1929 at Wembley Stadium. Bolton won 2–0, with goals by Billy Butler and Harold Blackmore. It marked the 54th final of the Football As ...

. This was followed a few days later by a match at The Dell against

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

in the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. This match was played in torrential rain in front of the burnt out remains of the East Stand, which had been destroyed by fire four days earlier. Despite Easson's two goals, the "Saints" won the match 3–2. Easson soon became a regular member of the Portsmouth side, replacing the ageing David Watson at

inside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and forming a useful partnership with

Jack Weddle John Robson Weddle (5 November 1905 – 1979) was an English footballer. He played for Portsmouth as a centre forward during the interwar and post war period. He is best remembered for Portsmouth's Cup run in the 1933/34 season, scoring a hat-tr ...

. He soon showed his scoring ability, with five goals in his first ten games. His reputation grew in the 1930–31 season when he scored two hat-tricks within a month of each other, against

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, both at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect Ar ...

. Shortly afterwards, he was named by the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

selectors for their international side for a match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, but they realised their mistake when the records were checked for Easson's birthplace. He completed the 1930–31 season with 30 league and cup goals to help Pompey finish fourth in the First Division. In May 1931, he was selected to join the

on a tour of Europe. His first cap came in a 5–0 defeat against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 16 May, followed by a match against Switzerland a week later, when Easson scored the opening goal in a 3–2 victory. Despite his "frail and small appearance", he became one of the most feared inside forwards in the First Division and his partnership with Weddle made the pair feared throughout the league in the early 1930s. In 1931–32, Easson netted another hat-trick, missed only two games and scored 21 league goals, regularly scoring two in a match to establish himself as a firm favourite at Fratton Park. His third and final Scotland appearance came in a 3–2 defeat by

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

on 4 October 1933. Easson played in the

1934 FA Cup Final The 1934 FA Cup Final was won by Manchester City in a 2–1 win over Portsmouth. The match is most remembered for a young Frank Swift's heroics in goal and the predictions of City forward Fred Tilson. The match was also refereed by future FIFA ...

defeat against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

and stayed at Fratton Park until March 1939 when he joined

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

. By now, he had lost his place at

Bert Barlow Herbert Barlow (22 July 1916 – 19 March 2004) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League, where he made over 250 league appearances for Barnsley, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Leicester City and Co ...

; his last game for Portsmouth ended identically to the first, against Manchester United with a 0–0 scoreline in December 1938. In his ten years with Portsmouth, he made a total of 312 first-team appearances, scoring 107 goals.

Later career

His playing career was brought to an end following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, during which he returned to Scotland and guested for

Carnoustie Panmure Carnoustie Panmure Football Club are a Scottish Junior football club from the town of Carnoustie, Angus. They currently compete in the . History Formed in 1936, they are nicknamed ''the Gowfers'' due to the town's well-established links to the ...

. After the war, he returned to Fratton Park as a trainer, remaining with Portsmouth until July 1950. During his first spell as a trainer, Easson twice helped guide Portsmouth to 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

championship: in 1948–49 and again the following season. In 1951, he took up a coaching position at local rivals,

, where he remained until February 1953. In April 1951, Easson was involved in an altercation with Southampton's Irish international goalkeeper, Hugh Kelly after a defeat at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

. After the match, the team stayed in the Midlands to play a friendly match at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. Kelly returned to the team hotel with

Ken Chisholm Kenneth McTaggart Chisholm (12 April 1925 – 30 April 1990) was a Scottish footballer, who played for a number of teams in The Football League and the Scottish Football League as a forward. Club career Chisholm, a former RAF fighter pilot, beg ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

and two young ladies. When Easson tried to get the ladies to leave, he and Kelly had an argument which culminated in Kelly giving the trainer a

black eye A periorbital hematoma, commonly called a black eye or a shiner (associated with boxing or stick sports such as hockey), is bruising around the eye commonly due to an injury to the face rather than to the eye. The name refers to the dark-col ...

. As a result, Kelly was immediately placed on the

transfer-list The transfer market is the arena in which football players are available for transfer to clubs. The transfer market consists of a list of players available for transfer, and also the money moving between clubs as they contest to purchase and sell t ...

and never played for the "Saints" again. Easson returned to Fratton Park for the 1957–58 season.

Honours

Portsmouth *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

runners-up:

References

External links

(Incomplete) Portsmouth career detailsScotland career details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Easson, Jimmy Scottish footballers People from Brechin 1906 births 1983 deaths Dundee F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Scotland international footballers English Football League players Association football forwards Southampton F.C. non-playing staff Portsmouth F.C. non-playing staff East Craigie F.C. players Carnoustie Panmure F.C. players Footballers from Angus, Scotland Scottish Junior Football Association players FA Cup Final players