Jimmy Gourlay

For other people with the same name, see James Gourlay (disambiguation).

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