Jimmy Blair (footballer born 1888)

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Personal information
Jimmy Blair
Full name	James Blair
Date of birth	May 11, 1888 (1888-05-11)
Place of birth	Glenboig, Scotland
Date of death	1964
Playing position	Defender
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
?-? ?-1913 1913-1914 1914-1920 1920-1926 1926-1928	Bonnybridge Thistle Ashfield Clyde Sheffield Wednesday Cardiff City Bournemouth	00? (?) 00? (?) 00? (?) 057 (0) 177 (0) 00? (?)
National team
1920-1924	Scotland	008 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

James "Jimmy" Blair (born 11 May 1888 in Glenboig, died 1964) is a former Scottish international footballer, probably most well known for playing in the 1925 FA Cup Final for Cardiff City.

His son Doug was also a professional footballer.

[edit] Career

Blair had played for Scottish amateur sides BonnyBridge Thistle and Ashfield before being signed by Clyde. He spent only one year at the club after attracting interest from several clubs around Britain but it was Sheffield Wednesday who managed to sign him in 1914 for a fee of £2,000. Unfortunatley he struggled to ever make a big impact on the team due to various different events. Soon after joining the club he was involved in a motorcycle crash that kept him out of the team for a long period and he had made just twenty appearances following his recovery when the Football League was suspended due to the outbreak of World War I. He returned home to Scotland during the war and Sheffield Wednesday struggled to get him to return to the club after the hostilities had ended as he was not happy with the deal being offered. He did eventually return to play for the club but, following their relegation, he left to join Cardiff City in 1920 for £3,500.

He made his debut in a 4-2 win over Blackpool and went on to establish himself in Cardiff's first team during his six years at Ninian Park. In 1925 Blair was on the losing side in the FA Cup final against Sheffield United following Fred Tunstall's goal. He left the club in 1926 and played for two years at Bournemouth before retirng. He later spent time in a coaching role at Cardiff before moving into the licensing trade.

During the early 1920's Blair became a regular for Scotland and won a total of eight caps, making his first appearnce on 13 March 1920 against Ireland and his final appearnce on 16 February 1924 against Wales.^[1]