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| Jimmy Gibson |
 James Davidson Gibson was born on Wednesday, 5th June, 1901, in Larkhall, South Lanarkshire. The 6' 2 (12st 0lbs) midfielder signed for George Easton's Thistle on Friday, 6th May, 1921, having most recently been with Ashfield. Aged 20, he made his debut appearance on Tuesday, 23rd August, 1921, in a 3-3 draw at home to Clydebank FC in a Benefit match. That day, Jimmy became a member of our scoring debutant's club. He scored the last of his 55 goals on Saturday, 15th January, 1927, in a 3-2 defeat at home to Hamilton Academical in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 23rd April, 1927, in a 2-1 defeat away to Dundee United in the SFL First Division, having clocked up an impressive 215 appearances as a Jag. His club-list included Larkhall Thistle, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, Ashfield, Partick Thistle and Aston Villa. Jimmy died on Sunday, 1st January, 1978, in Birmingham, aged 76. |
 Gibson played right-half and was regarded as one of the best players in that position at that time. He played over 200 games for Thistle before a transfer to Aston Villa for a then-record fee of £7,500 in 1927. This huge sum ensured that Thistle were able to afford the construction of a new main stand on the west side of the ground. For many years, the excellent main stand was referred to by patrons as 'The Jimmy Gibson stand'. He similarly made over 200 appearances for Aston Villa, during which time they were runners-up in the Football League twice (1930–31 and 1932–33) but were relegated in his final season with the club, 1935–36. Jimmy was capped eight times by Scotland; the highlight of his career was when he partnered Jimmy McMullan (his former Partick Thistle teammate) in the dominant Scottish midfield of the "Wembley Wizards" that defeated England 5–1 in 1928. He also played twice for the Scottish Football League XI. His father Neilly Gibson was also a Scottish international, who also played for Partick Thistle though mainly for Rangers, while brothers Neil (also a Jag) and Willie were also footballers. As a footnote to his height, we've seen a contemporary source quote him as 5' 10½, but the Evening Despatch (28-Aug-1934) carries an insightful statement that he was "one of the tallest men in football" and has him at 6' 2. Andy Mitchell, in 'The Men Who Made Scotland' (2021) has him over 6 feet, so we're compelled to go with the aforementioned account. |
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