| James Lamont |
 James Lamont was born on Tuesday, 1st October, 1872, in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire. The midfielder signed for Thistle on Thursday, 10th October, 1895, having most recently been with Cowlairs. Aged 23, he made his first known appearance on Saturday, 26th October, 1895, in a 5-1 friendly win away to Queen's Park. James scored his first known goal for Thistle on Saturday, 30th November, 1895, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Motherwell in the SFL Second Division. He scored the last of his 17 known goals on Wednesday, 6th May, 1903, in a 4-0 win away to Milngavie in a Benefit match. That was actually his last known game for the club, having clocked up at least 119 appearances for the Thistle. His club-list included Milngavie, Cowlairs, Partick Thistle, Bedminster and Bristol Rovers. James died on Thursday, 11th May, 1950, in Edmonton, Alberta, aged 77.
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 The son of Matthew Lamont (stone mason) and Mary Ann Lamont (née Murphy). Both parents were Irish and James was the first to break the Irish line within the family unit, with three older brothers (Joseph, Matthew & Robert) and one older sister (Mary), all being born on the emerald isle. James would soon be joined by Scottish brothers William (in 1876) and David (in 1878). James worked as a cotton yarn dyer in his late teens, and played at half-back in the junior grade, where he came to a certain degree of prominence at Milngavie, turning out in representative games for the Glasgow Junior FA and being involved in trials for the junior international team. He was just on the verge of a breakthrough in that regard when Cowlairs came calling in the springtime of 1893. At that time, Cowlairs, Glasgow Thistle, Northern and Partick Thistle played together in the Scottish Alliance, but all 4 clubs would become members of the inaugural Scottish Football League Second Division in 1893-94. James would be a near ever-present for Cowlairs over the course of his two full seasons there. They could consider themselves unfortunate at the end of the first season. Despite finishing strongly in 2nd place, they were overlooked for election to the Scottish First Division, 3rd place Clyde being the club favoured by the votes at the League's AGM. This was a blow from which Cowlairs never recovered - they finished rock bottom in 1894-95 and were out of business by 1896. Reading the room, James made the switch to Partick Thistle in October 1895. Having played regularly against Thistle in recent seasons, his attributes were well known to the Thistle committee and he was considered a solid acquisition as Thistle themselves sought to win a place at the top table for the first time. Just two months after joining, his steady play was rewarded by a cap for Glasgow versus Sheffield. 3,000 were at First Cathkin Park on 7th December 1895 to see Glasgow win by 3 goals to 1. Brilliantly, two of James's Thistle mates (John Proudfoot & Willie Paul) scored the goals which ensured the win. That 1895-96 season was all rather mid-table for the Jags, although just 3 more points would have at least given them a play-off place which would have allowed them to be considered in the election ballot for promotion. On a personal level, James registered 3 goals in League action, two of which came in a pleasing 5-1 win over old rivals, Linthouse, another club on the slide. By contrast, Partick Thistle were a well-run club with a progressive committee, and all of the hard work which had been building for years finally paid off in season 1896-97, the last at Inchview. James - along with Jamie Auchincloss - topped the appearances chart that term, appearing in 25 of the 26 competitive matches. On the 17th April 1897, a crowd of 5,000 packed out Inchview, hoping to see Thistle win their first-ever title. One point was all that was required, but Thistle did it in style, defeating Kilmarnock by two goals to nil. It would be two of the half-backs - James Lamont and Robert Currie - who scored the goals which secured the title. Having played with Thistle in the historic title-winning season, James was in place for the club's first-ever season as a top-flight club, and the first season at the new ground at Meadowside. Things were a lot more difficult on the pitch, but it was a season of memorable moments all the same. No Partick Thistle fan who was there would ever forget the 3-2 win over Scottish champions, Hearts, which kicked off the League season sensationally in the new ground. 5 wins in the first 10 League games was an encouraging start, but things fell away in the second half of the season. The state of the new pitch - hard, bony and littered - had come in for some criticism, and it was the cause of injuries to key men. This certainly hampered progress, and James was one player who suffered more than most in that regard. After having just recovered from an injury which kept him on the sidelines, James was once again recognised by the Glasgow FA for the annual game versus Sheffield. 9,000 were at First Cathkin Park for the nil nil draw in December 1897, a surefire sign of the game's exponential growth at this time. Once again, James was joined by Thistle mates, this time Robert Gray and Willie Paul. Would you believe it - he suffered a recurrence of the injury and was out for several games in the aftermath! Thistle finished 3rd from bottom in their first top-flight season - the re-election zone - but survived the vote, much to the relief of the club members. While Thistle had been enjoying their first season in the top-flight, Bedminster FC became Western League Amateur Division 1 Champions. The Bristol club (who played at Ashton Gate) turned professional and joined the Southern League Division One for 1898-99. To aid the quest, their recruitment drive stretched northwards, and two of Thistle’s top men – James Lamont and William McDonald – were lured south. James was a near ever-present at Bedminster, who finished mid-table, but made the switch to rivals Bristol Rovers, newly elected to the Division, for season 1899-00. Whilst in Bristol, James met a local lass, Rose Sarah Summers, and the two would soon be wed. In December 1900, Thistle fans were delighted to hear the news that their old dependable half-back, James Lamont, was returning to the club after two and a half seasons away at Bristol. Thistle had been yo-yo-ing in the meantime and were struggling in the top-flight. Alas, this was far too late to save the day, the League season ending in February. Thistle finished bottom and were not re-elected. Second Division football beckoned. Just before that reality came to be, James returned to Bedminster for his pre-arranged date with destiny, marrying his local sweetheart, Rose. The two would be inseperable from hereon, and they moved up to Glasgow in time for the new football season. James appeared in 21 of the competitive matches in 1901-02 and scored in 5 of them, flirting between his usual half-back role and standing in as centre forward, doing so well as to become preferred in that position for a while! It was another succesful season for James and for Thistle. A place in the top two was confirmed on the last day of the League season, the 2-2 draw at Hamilton meaning Thistle would almost certainly be in the re-election ballot. Thistle succesfully lobbied for an increase from 10 to 12 clubs in the top-flight, and therefore the election of the Top 2 (Port Glasgow Athletic and Partick Thistle) was ratified without opposition at the League's AGM on 19th May, 1902. It seems at this point as if James decided to give up the game, his old bones just about to enter their 31st year - not to mention his newly acquired responsibilites as a husband. Thistle held his registered papers until the end of season 1903-04, but his farewell appearance in an end-of-season fundraiser at Milngavie (his first club) in May 1903 was the only sign of life during that time. Thistle would, of course, remain a top-flight outfit until the end of the 1960s, and that partly forms the legacy of James Lamont. After his footballing career was over, James, in 1905, followed in his father's footsteps by taking stone masonry for his trade. In 1912, he and Rose emigrated to Canada in 1912, settling in Edmonton. Sadly, James became a widower in 1925. He himself died 25 years later, prostate cancer being the cause. One of his sons signed the register entry. James was laid to rest at Edmonton Municipal Cemetery (see 'Gallery' tab above), where he was re-united with Rose Sarah, his late wife. |
| (WS/JK) |
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