| James McGregor |
 James McGregor 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 Saturday, 18th February, 1905, having most recently been with Crieff Morrisonians. He made his debut appearance on Saturday, 18th February, 1905, in a 6-1 defeat away to Third Lanark in the SFL First Division. That day, James became a member of our scoring debutant's club. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 13th January, 1906, in a 2-1 win at home to Kilmarnock in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 10 occasions. His club-list included Crieff Morrisonians, Partick Thistle, Cowdenbeath, Dundee, St Bernard's, St Johnstone, Dundee Hibernian and Vale of Earn. We don't know where or when James died. *
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 This left-winger arrived for a trial at Meadowside in February 1905 from his local team, Morrisonians of Crieff. Unfortunately for him, Thistle tried a few juniors on the day, and were soundly beaten 6 to 1 by Third Lanark. James debut goal counted for little, although he's thought to have signed after the match all the same. He made 5 appearances in each of his two seasons with Thistle, the highlight of which was a 2-1 Glasgow League win over Celtic in April 1905. James had loan spells at Cowdenbeath and back at Morrisonians during 1905-06, before signing with the former in August 1906. Was a near ever-present for Cowdenbeath in the Second Division that season, and played there for three full seasons all-told. Signed for Dundee in the close season of 1909, but failed to make much of an impact in the first-team over the course of three seasons. Was registered as a St Bernard's player for several seasons, but was not a first team regular for the biggest majority of that time. James had spells with St Johnstone and Dundee Hibernian before finishing his playing career back in the juniors with his Crieff-hometown team, Vale of Earn, where he played into the early 1920s. A newspaper report from February 1915 stated that James, who was then playing with Dundee Hibernian, had joined the 6th Battalion Black Watch, who were at that time stationed in Dundee. The Battalion were a territorial force based in Perthshire. They were involved in Tay defences at the start of World War 1, and in April 1915 they moved to Bedford, becoming part of 153 Brigade. In May 1915 they moved to Boulogne-sur-Mer with 153 Brigade as part of the 51st Highland Division of that time. They saw action at the Battle of Ancre Heights in October 1916. The Battalion were awarded the French Croix de Guerre for their action at the Second Battle of the Marne in July 1918, at Tarendois, but suffered heavy losses. Thankfully, James survived the war, and happier days lay ahead. He was nicknamed "Peerie" because he could turn so quickly, so we can take it he was a low centre of gravity "wee man". As can be seen from our 'Scrapbook' tab, his son, Alexander 'Pirie' McGregor (who adopted his nickname), became an athlete of some renown, taking on middle-distance and sprints up until his 60th birthday! On account of his service during WWI, James is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle Returned →. |
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