James McLeod
James McLeod
James McLeod
• James McLeod, 1928 (AN)

born in Scotland

James McLeod was born on Sunday, 26th November, 1905, in Springburn, Glasgow.

The 5' 6½ (10st 7lbs) forward signed for George Easton's Thistle on Thursday, 2nd June, 1927, having most recently been with Petershill.

Aged 22, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 18th August, 1928, in a 4-2 win at home to Dundee in the SFL First Division.

That day, James became a member of our scoring debutant's club.

He scored the last of his 3 goals on Saturday, 10th November, 1928, in an 8-4 defeat at home to Ayr United in the SFL First Division.

He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 6th April, 1929, in a 3-0 defeat away to St Mirren in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 9 occasions.

His club-list included Petershill, Partick Thistle, Carlisle United and Raith Rovers.

James died in 1981, in Glasgow, aged 75. *

* If you can help us to improve any of these marked points on The Thistle Archive, then please do get in touch →

James McLeod's Summary Totals
appearances position won drew lost goals
League 6 3 0 3 2
Competitive 8 5 0 3 2
All Games 9 5 1 3 3

Bio Extra

The first born son of David McLeod (railway porter) and Sarah McLeod (née McCormick) who were married in February 1905 in Glasgow. Two years later, James would be joined by a younger brother, Eddie. Amazingly, both would play for Partick Thistle!

The 21-year-old James joined Thistle in the summer of 1927 from Petershill. An inside right specialist, he spent two full seasons at Firhill, mainly in the reserves. More than a year passed before he got a chance in the first team and he scored on his debut, a 4-2 league win over Dundee in August 1928. 4 weeks later, he scored again in his next run out, a 3-3 draw at home to Celtic for Denis O'Hare's benefit. League wins over St Johnstone (6-2) and Aberdeen (3-2) were highlights of his first team appearances, as was the 3-1 win over Celtic in November 1928 which qualified the Jags for the Glasgow Dental Cup final, which was famously won.

James moved southwards to Carlisle United of the Third Division North for season 1929-30 and got off to a rocky start that September when he was sent off in a match versus Stockport, resulting in a month's suspension. He appeared 9 times for Carlisle, scoring once, before being granted a free at the end of the season. Returning to Scotland, James impressed in a Blues vs. Whites trial game for Raith Rovers and subsequently signed for the Kirkcaldy outfit, but failed to make any significant impact in first team terms.

The Evening Despatch (30-Jan-1931) wrote: “James McLeod the former Partick Thistle and Carlisle United footballer sailed from Liverpool yesterday for Havana where he is to play for a Spanish team.” There we have it, an international man of mystery!

(WS/SD/AFK)



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