James McCambridge (23 September 1905 – 1988) was an Irish 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 ...

. He was capped 4 times by

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

during his career.

Career

McCambridge began his football career with his hometown club

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

and reached the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...

final in 1928, in which Larne were defeated by Willowfield after a replay.Coleman, N. (2015). ''The Official History of Ballymena United FC''. Ballyhay Books. In June 1928, McCambridge became one of the first signings for the newly formed

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

team and was a goalscoring revelation at the Ballymena Showgrounds - scoring 32 goals including one in the

final as the Braidmen shocked

Belfast Celtic Belfast Celtic Football Club was an Irish football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for political reaso ...

to win the cup in their first season of senior football. The second season continued with similar success and on 1 February 1930 he became the first Ballymena player to be capped at international level when he played in a 7–0 win over

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 ...

. He retained his place for the next International three weeks later, as Ireland lost to Scotland at

Parkhead Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...

Professional career

Shortly after the Scotland game, McCambridge secured a £1,750 transfer to Everton. However, he spent just three months at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

, making one appearance in place of

Dixie Dean William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. Dean holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season in top-flight English football, with 60. He is regarded as ...

in a 3–0 win over

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. He left the club in December to sign for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, scoring twice on his debut the following month in January 1931 during a 3–2 defeat to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. He finished the season with 9 goals, including a hat-trick against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

. His first full season at the club the next year yielded a total of 28 goals in all competitions and, with 26 of the goals scored in the league, he broke the club record of league goals scored in a single season set by

Hughie Ferguson Hugh Ferguson (2 March 1895 – 8 January 1930) was a Scottish professional footballer. Born in Motherwell, he played for Parkhead at junior level as an amateur and was one of the most sought-after young players in Scotland before signing for ...

four years earlier by one. His record stood for 15 years until it was broken by

Stan Richards Stanley Richardson, known professionally as Stan Richards (8 December 1930 – 11 February 2005), was an English television actor, best known for his portrayal of Seth Armstrong in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Career He played the ...

in the 1946–47 season. The following season, McCambridge was unable to match his goalscoring feat of the previous year but still finished as the club's top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions. Despite finishing as Cardiff's top scorer in his two full seasons at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

, as well as winning the final two Ireland caps of his career in matches against Wales and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he was allowed to leave in 1933 to join

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. He moved around several times in the following years, playing at

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

before finishing his career at

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

in the Southern League."Jimmy McCambridge"
NIfootball.com Retrieved on 10 June 2009

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCambridge, Jimmy 1905 births 1988 deaths Association footballers from Larne Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Ballymena F.C. players Everton F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players English Football League players Irish League representative players Men's association football forwards NIFL Premiership players