James Robert Glass (born 1 August 1973) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is chiefly remembered for scoring the last-minute goal which kept

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

in the Football League in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, while on loan from Swindon Town. The drama of Glass's late goal, which came in one of only three games that he played for Carlisle, has since made it famous in English football at a level beyond its immediate ramifications. Beyond the Carlisle goal, Glass's most notable time with a club was three seasons playing for

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

from 1996 to 1998, his only regular spell at a Football League club; he retired from football in 2001 aged 27.

Career

Early career

Glass had a journeyman's career in football, playing for many clubs, initially as a reserve keeper for Crystal Palace. He never played a first team game for the Eagles, but was an unused substitute several times, including the 1995 FA Cup semi-final replay 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 ...

, which Palace lost 2–0 at Villa Park. He was transferred to

a year later. The closest he came to a trophy in senior football was reaching the final of the Football League Trophy with Bournemouth in 1998 – Glass scored an own goal in the match, and Bournemouth lost 2–1. Glass moved to Swindon Town in the summer of 1998, but after falling out with the manager, Jimmy Quinn, was unable to gain a regular place in the team.

Carlisle United

He moved to Carlisle United on loan from

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

late that season (after goalkeeper Tony Caig was sold to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and Richard Knight's loan period had been cut short due to injury). His moment of fame came on 8 May 1999, in the final match of the 1998–99 Third Division season against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, which Carlisle needed to win to avoid relegation. With the score 1–1 with only ten seconds remaining, and Carlisle winning a corner, Glass came up from his own penalty area and promptly scored a

last minute goal The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored either ...

, volleying the ball in after the Plymouth goalkeeper had parried out Scott Dobie's goalbound header. Carlisle got the win they needed and Scarborough were relegated to the Football Conference instead after a 1–1 draw with Peterborough. Scarborough's match had already finished before Glass scored, and their fans had already been celebrating on the pitch at the McCain Stadium. His goal was selected as the 72nd greatest sporting moment ever by the Channel 4 programme ''

100 Greatest Sporting Moments ''100 Greatest'' is a long-running TV strand on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom that has been broadcasting from 11 September 1999 to 10 October 2015, originating in Tyne Tees Television’s Factual Features department under Executive Producer Ma ...

''. The goal was also ranked 7th in ''The Times'' newspaper's list of the 50 most important goals in football history. His goal against Plymouth Argyle was number 15 in the ''20 Goals That Shook the World'' on ITV4. The

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boots with which he scored the goal were donated to the National Football Museum in 2014.

After Carlisle United

Despite his brief fame, this was the last of just three matches Glass played at Carlisle, who were unable to sign him on a permanent basis. Glass spent time at several other clubs, including Oxford United and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, before moving to non-league clubs, and then quitting football altogether. He reportedly scored six goals two weeks running whilst playing

Sunday league football Sunday league football is a term used in Britain and Ireland to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term pub league may also be used, owing to the number of ...

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, playing as a striker. He wrote an autobiography, entitled ''One Hit Wonder''. Author Gabriel Kuhn described Glass's fame by saying:

After football

Glass retired from professional football at the age of 27, and became an IT salesman. He later became a taxi driver in Dorset. In a 2013 BBC interview Glass stated: "It is quite tough because some go on to fame and fortune and some go on to driving a cab and living a normal life like me. It is quite difficult to understand your place in life from being this guy who will never be forgotten to being the guy worrying about your next bill. The goal was an amazing part of my life and is there to be enjoyed, and I will until people get bored of me. Someone on Saturday will be a hero and someone will be a villain. It is an incredible feeling." In October 2011, it was announced that Glass joined Poole Town as the new goalkeeping coach, working on a voluntary basis. He also had a job in hospitality at AFC Bournemouth. In 2016, he returned to football as Player Liaison Officer with Premier League club Bournemouth.

References

External links

*
''The Observer'' – Do You Remember...Jimmy Glass?

BBC Press Release

Working Glass Hero
– article in the University of Cumbria student newspaper {{DEFAULTSORT:Glass, Jimmy 1973 births Association football goalkeepers Crystal Palace F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Burnley F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Swindon Town F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Brockenhurst F.C. players Kingstonian F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players English footballers National League (English football) players Living people Sportspeople from Epsom AFC Bournemouth non-playing staff English Football League players Association football goalkeeping coaches