| James Gray |
 James Gray was probably born in Scotland, although his place and date of birth remain unknown to us. * The forward signed for George Easton's Thistle on Thursday, 31st May, 1917, having most recently been with Renfrew. He made his debut appearance on Saturday, 11th August, 1917, in a 2-1 defeat away to Motherwell in a Benefit match. James scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 22nd December, 1917, in a 5-1 win at home to Queen's Park in the Scottish Football League. He scored his second and final goal for the club on Saturday, 11th May, 1918, in a 2-0 neutral-venue win against Rangers in the Glasgow Charity Cup. He played his last game for Thistle on Saturday, 10th May, 1919, in a 2-1 friendly defeat away to Bathgate, having appeared as a Jag on 40 occasions. His club-list included Renfrew and Partick Thistle. We don't know where or when James died. *
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 James turned out for the Scottish Junior League in a 1-1 draw against the Irish Alliance on 3rd March 1917 at Firhill. The left winger was singled out by the Record reporter who opined he was "the best of a ragged attack" and that he "knows how to cross a ball". James was having a fine season and, just 3 weeks later, he won a Scotland Junior cap at Belfast, albeit the Irish won by 2 goals to nil. James was back at Firhill the following month, scoring in the 3-0 win over Cambuslang Rangers to clinch a place in the Junior Cup final. On 26 May 1917, James got a goal and a winners' medal in a 3-1 win over Port Glasgow Athletic which clinched the Renfrewshire Junior Cup. Over the following two Saturdays, some 50,000 watched the two editions of the Junior Cup final at Firhill, St Mirren Juniors being the opponents. A 0-0 draw on 2nd June 1917 was followed by a 1-0 win for St Mirren a week later. It was the first goal Renfrew had conceded in the whole tournament run! That was his swansong with Renfrew, and he had committed himself to Partick Thistle. James spent two full seasons with Thistle, mostly turning out at inside left. He played his part in the runs which resulted in (losing) final appearances in both the Glasgow Cup and the Glasgow Charity Cup. Personal highlights in his first season were goals against Queen's Park (a 5-1 league win at Firhill in December) and Rangers (a 2-0 Charity Cup win in May). His game time decreased in 1918-19, with just 11 appearances in all competitions. He was placed on the open to transfer list in the summer of 1919, and it's unclear how his footballing career worked out from thereon. |
| (WS/JK) |
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