James McMenamin (11 October 1880 – 23 June 1965), was a Scottish footballer who most notably played for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

from 1902 to 1920 and later served as assistant manager in the 1930s. He has been described by the club as ''"a true Celtic legend"''.

Early life

James was born in

Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...

, Lanarkshire, on 11 October 1880 to John McMenamin and Hannah Regan; his father adopted the name 'McMenamin' after he moved to Scotland from

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

. John's brother, also called James, settled in Rutherglen during the same period with his wife Ann Smith but maintained the traditional spelling 'McMenemy'. This – and also due to the player himself using both styles – has led to some mis-attributing of the player's date of birth to that of his cousin (James McMenemy, born at Rutherglen on 23 August 1880).

Playing career

Club

McMenemy began his career playing for local

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

teams Cambuslang Hibernian and Rutherglen Glencairn, winning the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA). The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA on the 2nd October 1886 and, as of the 2023–24 ed ...

and

Glasgow Junior League The Glasgow Junior Football League (GJL) was a football league competition operated under the Scottish Junior Football Association between 1895 and 1927.

double with the latter in 1902, alongside

Alec Bennett Alec Bennett (1897–1973) was an Irish-Canadian motorcycle racer famous for motorcycle Grand Prix wins and five career wins at the Isle of Man TT races. Biography A native of Craigantlet in Ireland's County Down, Bennett emigrated with his ...

. In June 1902, aged 21, he joined

, where he would become a mainstay in the side for the next two decades. Nicknamed "Napoleon" by manager

Willie Maley William Patrick Maley (25 April 1868 – 2 April 1958) was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football histo ...

due to his strategic and leadership qualities and calmness, as well as an apparent resemblance to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, he was also said to be ''"a master of the deceptive movement"'' who ''"seldom troubled himself with the physical side of the game – he had no need."'' He made his debut on 29 September 1902 against Hearts, scoring for the first time in a 3–0 win over Port Glasgow Athletic two months later. One of his first important actions was away from the pitch when he successfully persuaded Bennett to join him at the club; the pair would form Celtic's first famous forward line, along with Davie Hamilton (another former Cambuslang Hibs player), Jimmy Quinn and Peter Somers. McMenemey was in the team that defeated

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

3–2 in the 1904 Scottish Cup final after being down 2–0, and also played and opened the scoring in a playoff match against the same opposition to decide the 1904–05 league title. It would be the first of six league titles in a row between 1905 and season 1909–10, with Celtic also securing two further

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, On the eve of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in season 1913–14, the club were again crowned champions and Cup winners. This team, including new stars

Patsy Gallacher Patrick Gallacher (16 March 1891 – 17 June 1953) was an Irish association football, footballer, playing in the inside-right position, most noted for his career at Celtic F.C., Celtic, where he became one of the club's leading goalscorers of a ...

, Jimmy McColl and Andy McAtee plus survivors from the earlier successful squad such as Alec McNair and 'Sunny Jim' Young would win a further three titles, and set a sequence of 62 league games unbeaten (65 including the minor

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rule ...

and

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cup ...

) which would not be surpassed for a century. In October 1913, McMenemy suffered a broken collar bone during a match against

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. After jumping up to win a header, McMenemy collided mid-air with John Wyllie, "and they both fell like a log". McMenemy was not to play for

again until 27 December in a 6-0 victory over Ayr United. McMenemy, now in his mid-30s, was one of the Celtic players who worked in

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, ...

s during the conflict – in his case manufacturing munitions – so was not called to frontline action and able to continue to playing football whenever possible (in summer 1918 he was due to be called up, with one brother having been killed and another wounded on the battlefield, but fell ill with

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

and did not leave Scotland before the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

in November of that year). A teammate, Peter Johnstone, was one of those did perish on the Western Front. Prior to season 1918–19, 38-year-old McMenemy retired from playing, only to return to Celtic by the halfway point of the season, where he was restored to the line-up and helped secure another Scottish League title, his eleventh overall. He also won six

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

against Clyde), an equally impressive total considering the trophy was withheld in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...

and five editions were not contested during the war. McMenemy made 515 appearances for Celtic in the League and Scottish Cup, scoring 166 goals. In Celtic's all-time records, he ranks in sixth place for league appearances and seventh for league goals. He is also the club's oldest goalscorer (39 years, 56 days v

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, 6 December 1939) and third-oldest player (39 years, 194 days vs St Mirren, 22 April 1920). In June 1920, McMenemy left Celtic and joined

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

where, in April 1921, aged, 40, he helped them to their one and only Scottish Cup victory, beating Rangers 1–0 in the final which was held at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. He played on at Firhill for two more years, retiring in 1923.

International

McMenemy played 12 times for the Scotland national team, scoring five goals, and also represented the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

14 times, scoring twice. At the age of 40 he also took part in a 1921 summer tour of North America as a member of 'Third Lanark Scotland XI' (organised by Third Lanark and composed of players from seven different clubs); he was reunited with old teammate and rival Alec Bennett who thereafter became the ''Thirds'' manager.

Coaching and later life

After retiring from playing, McMenemy spent some years away from football and spent time as a

publican The (Latin ; Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'') were public contractors in the Roman Republic and Empire. In their official capacity, they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw pub ...

. He came back to Partick Thistle as a coach, then in 1934 returned to Celtic as trainer assisting Willie Maley (the same manager who had brought him to the club three decades earlier), helping players such as

Jimmy Delaney James Delaney (3 September 1914 – 26 September 1989) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right. He had a 24-year playing career interrupted by World War II, his longest spells at club level were spent with Celtic in Scotland an ...

and Willie Buchan to develop and taking charge of the squad which won the

Empire Exhibition Trophy The Empire Exhibition Trophy was a football competition held in 1938 in conjunction with the Empire Exhibition, Scotland in Glasgow. It was held to commemorate the Exhibition, then underway in Bellahouston Park, and the prize was a solid silver ...

in 1938, having already secured that season's League title. Maley retired in 1940, however McMenemy was not chosen to succeed him, the role instead going to

Jimmy McStay James McStay (1 April 1895 – 31 December 1973) was a Scottish football player and manager. He spent most of his career at Celtic, and was a captain and manager for the club. Career A full back (successfully converted from left half by manag ...

. By then the world was again at war, and McMenemy and Celtic parted company. He died in Glasgow in 1965.

Legacy

In 2010, a selection of McMenemy's medals, Scotland caps and other memorabilia was sold at auction for £3,500. In 2013, the ''

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

won the Scottish Cup with Celtic in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

– just six years after his father's last win – and the Scottish League Championship with

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

;

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

played for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

where he won 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 ...

; Frank played for

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

and

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

; and both James (

Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...

) and Joe (

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

) were prominent junior players but did not play at the professional level. Joe McMenemy is also credited with saving the sister of Sean Fallon from drowning during a holiday in

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

, after which the families became acquainted; Fallon would go on to serve Celtic as a player and coach for many years.

Lawrie McMenemy Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war English ...

, the former manager of Southampton and many other teams, is a distant relation of the family.

Honours

;Rutherglen Glencairn *

: 1901–02 *

Glasgow Junior League The Glasgow Junior Football League (GJL) was a football league competition operated under the Scottish Junior Football Association between 1895 and 1927.

: 1901–02 ;Celtic *

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...

(11):

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1918–19 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1903–04, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1913–14 **Finalist: 1908–09 *

(8): 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1919–20 : Glasgow Charity Cup (10): 1902–03, 1904–05, 1907–08, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1917–18, 1919–20 * War Fund Shield: 1917–18 *

Budapest Cup The Budapest Cup was an association football tournament contested between the FA Cup winners Burnley and Scottish Cup winners Celtic. The charity competition was organized and hosted by the local Budapest club Ferencváros at the Ferencváros Gro ...

: 1914 ;Partick Thistle *Scottish Cup: 1920–21 ;Scotland *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

(2): 1909–10, 1911–12 (shared)

Notes

References

External links

*
London Hearts profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcmenemy, Jimmy 1880 births 1965 deaths Men's association football forwards Footballers from Rutherglen Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish men's footballers Celtic F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scotland men's international footballers Scotland men's wartime international footballers Scottish Junior Football Association players Cambuslang Hibernian F.C. players Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. non-playing staff Celtic F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...