James Jay (July 1879 – 13 March 1927) was an English 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

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in the

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 ...

for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. He is the record Southern League appearance-maker for

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 ...

and was posthumously inducted into the club's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2015.

Career

Bristol City

, Jay joined

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

club

from Western League Second Division high-flyers Bristol East in September 1901. He made 21 appearances and scored four goals, before departing at the end of the 1902–03 season.

Brentford

Jay joined Southern League First Division club

in June 1903. He was a regular member of the team until his release at the end of the 1907–08 season. In September 1908, the Bees' management had a change of heart and brought Jay back for two further seasons and gave him a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

against

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

. Jay's 206 Southern League appearances is a club record and he made over 225 senior appearances for Brentford, scoring eight goals.

Personal life

After being released from Brentford in 1908, Jay became a

pub landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord applies ...

in his native

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Career statistics

Honours

Bristol East * Western League Second Division: 1900–01 Individual * Brentford Hall of Fame

References

English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Brentford F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Western Football League players People from Kingswood, South Gloucestershire 1879 births 1927 deaths Footballers from Gloucestershire {{England-footy-midfielder-1870s-stub