James McGrath (4 March 1907 – 17 October 1950) was an English footballer. A speedy and crafty player, he played at left-half and on the right-wing. He began his career in 1928 at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, before switching to Port Vale in May 1932. He was transferred to Notts County in June 1934, and later moved on to

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

Career

McGrath played for Washington Colliery, before joining

in 1928. The "Bluebirds" suffered relegation out of the First Division following a last place finish in 1928–29. They posted an eighth-place finish in the Second Division in 1929–30, before suffering another relegation in 1930–31 with another last place finish. Cardiff finished in ninth place in the Third Division South in 1931–32. In his four seasons at Ninian Park, McGrath featured in 33 league games. He returned to the Second Division when he signed with Port Vale in May 1932. His debut came on 9 May at the humiliating 7–0 Potteries derby defeat to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

in the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup final. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 December 1932, in a 2–1 defeat to Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park. He scored a total of eight goals in 29 appearances in the 1932–33 season, getting on the scoresheet against Stoke City at The Old Recreation Ground and 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 Wemb ...

. He scored three goals in 39 games in the 1933–34 campaign, but was transferred to league rivals Notts County in June 1934. He later moved on to

, eventually joining the training staff there.

Later life

McGrath took up employment at Ryhope Colliery after the Second World War. He died suddenly at the site on 17 October 1950.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgrath, Jimmy People from Washington, Tyne and Wear Footballers from Tyne and Wear English footballers Association football wing halves Association football wingers Cardiff City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players English Football League players 1907 births 1950 deaths