Jim Cannon

For the 1940s–1950s inside forward, see Jim Cannon (footballer, born 1927). For other people with similar names, see James Cannon (disambiguation).
Jim Cannon
Personal information
Full nameJames Cannon
Date of birth2 October 1953
Place of birthGlasgow, Scotland
Playing positionCentre back
Youth career
1970-1973Crystal Palace
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1973–1988Crystal Palace571(30)
1988Croydon?(?)
1988–1989Dartford?(?)
1988–1989Bristol Rovers1(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

James "Jim" Cannon (born 2 October 1953)[1] is a Scottish retired footballer.

Along with several other promising young Scottish players he was signed as an apprentice for Crystal Palace in October 1970, by then manager Bert Head, having previously had a trial with Manchester City.[1] He made a goalscoring debut on March 31, 1973 against Chelsea and went on to make 660 appearances for the club, beating Terry Long's record in the 1984-85 season.

A cultured centre half who could also play at left back or in midfield, he eventually left the club at the end of the 1987-88 season (15 seasons after his debut), having been captain for the previous ten seasons, and initially joined Croydon F.C.[2] and then in November 1988, Dartford.[1] He also had a short spell with Bristol Rovers following which he retired from the professional game to set up the successful company ICS Builders in the Croydon area.

From the 2005-06 season onwards, he made a return to Palace, in the hospitality department, hosting the executive boxes at Selhurst Park on matchdays.

In 2005, Cannon was voted into Palace's Centenary XI, and was only just pipped to "The Player of The Century" award by Ian Wright.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mike Purkiss & Nigel Sands. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. p. 67. ISBN 0907969542.
  2. Mike Purkiss & Nigel Sands. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. p. 320. ISBN 0907969542.