Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James Bonthrone | ||
Date of birth | 16 June 1929 | ||
Place of birth | Kinglassie, Fife, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 7 June 2008 | (aged 78)||
Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1949–1957 | East Fife | 222 | (85) |
1957–1959 | Dundee | 30 | (15) |
1959–1961 | Stirling Albion | 43 | (21) |
1961–1962 | Queen of the South | 6 | (0) |
Total | 301 | (121) | |
International career | |||
1953 | Scotland B[1] | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1963–1969 | East Fife | ||
1971–1975 | Aberdeen | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
James Bonthrone (16 June 1929 – 7 June 2008)[2] was a Scottish professional football player, coach and manager.
Born in Kinglassie, Fife,[3] Bonthrone's playing career centred on his time with a successful East Fife team,[4] although he also played for Dundee, Stirling Albion and for George Farm at Queen of the South.[3][5] He won the Scottish League Cup as a player with East Fife[6] in 1953.
After retiring as a player, Bonthrone managed East Fife from 1963 until 1969[6][4] before assisting Eddie Turnbull at Aberdeen.[3][6] Bonthrone was assistant manager when Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1970.[5] He was promoted to become the Aberdeen manager in 1971 after Turnbull moved to Hibernian.[3][5][6][4]
Bonthrone managed the Dons from 1971 until his resignation in 1975.[3][5] The club won the Drybrough Cup in 1971 just after he was appointed.[3][6] He gave Willie Miller his debut, but had to contend with the high-profile departures of Martin Buchan and Joe Harper,[5][6] which effectively broke up the team that had been successful under Turnbull.[5][4]
After leaving Aberdeen, he became commercial manager with East Fife before retiring.[5][6]