| James Armstrong |
 James Laidlaw Armstrong was born on Saturday, 5th September, 1896, in Dumfries. The forward signed for George Easton's Thistle on Thursday, 3rd September, 1914, having most recently been with Queen's Park. Aged 18, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 26th September, 1914, in a 2-0 win away to Rangers in the Glasgow Cup. There were no goals for James during his spell with Thistle. He played his second and last game for the club on Saturday, 21st November, 1914, in a 2-0 defeat at home to Heart of Midlothian in the SFL First Division. His club-list included Queen's Park and Partick Thistle. James died in 1979, in Dumfries and Galloway, aged 83. *
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 A versatile winger who could play on the left or right. His senior footballing career seems to have been limited to just over a season with Queen's Park followed by a season at Firhill where he was largely confined to the reserves and scored a number of times. His first team debut came in a Glasgow Cup semi final at Ibrox on 26th September 1914, watched by some 20,000 spectators. Goals by Willie Whittle in the first half and Frank Branscombe in the second, gave Thistle a surprising win. Rangers came back strongly at 2-0, but the Thistle defence had the measure of the forwards. “For dash, earnestness and tenacity the Thistle were masters” (SC). Willie Bulloch was excellent in a solid defence. His second and last game in the first team came several weeks later, on 21st November 1914. 12,000 were at Firhill for the visit of Hearts on League business. The match kicked off in thick fog. Fortunately for the ref, it lifted. Top club Hearts (14 wins out of 16) took two of the few chances that came their way whereas Thistle didn't. Jags put up a good fight after falling behind (10) but they lacked a finish. Hearts' forwards were also off form but they scored again late on. |
| (WS/AFK) |
