Jimmy Gourlay

Jimmy Gourlay
Personal information
Full name James Gourlay
Date of birth 11 January 1888
Place of birth Tarbolton, Scotland
Date of death 12 September 1970(1970-09-12) (aged 82)
Place of death Greenock, Scotland
Position(s)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1908–1909 Port Glasgow Athletic 22 (6)
1909–1913 Everton 54 (8)
1913–1926 Morton 385 (113)
Total 461 (127)
International career
1914–1919[1] Scottish Football League XI 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Gourlay (11 January 1888 – 12 September 1970)[2] was a Scottish footballer.[3]

He played for Port Glasgow Athletic, and for Everton in England between 1909 and 1913[4] before joining Morton as part of an exchange deal for John Fulton.[5] He remained an important member of the Greenock club's strong team in the era spanning World War I when they finished in the top four of the Scottish Football League for six seasons running, and won the War Fund Shield in 1915.[6]

Aged 34, Gourlay scored the only goal (with a free kick) in Morton's 1–0 win over Rangers in the 1922 Scottish Cup Final[7] which is, to date, the club's only major trophy. He later had a short spell at Third Lanark.[5]

Gourlay played in the Home Scots v Anglo-Scots annual trial match in 1914[8] and was selected for the Scottish Football League XI either side of the war, but never gained a full international cap. His father James Gourlay played once for Scotland in 1888; they are related to the lawn bowls champions David Gourlay Sr. and David Gourlay Jr.[2]

  1. ^ (SFL player) James McCrorie Gourlay, London Hearts Supporters Club
  2. ^ a b More double trouble: the two James Gourlays of Cambuslang, Scottish Sport History, 24 January 2014
  3. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ James Walter Gourlay [sic], 11v11.com
  5. ^ a b James Gourley of Everton and Morton, ToffeeWeb, 14 November 2016
  6. ^ Football: War Shield Final, Glasgow Herald, 29 April 1915
  7. ^ Scottish Cup Final. Morton's first victory, The Glasgow Herald, 17 April 1922
  8. ^ Association Football. | International Trial Match., The Glasgow Herald, 17 March 1914