James Irvine (born August 17, 1940 in Whitburn, West Lothian

Whitburn, West Lothian

Whitburn is a small town in West Lothian, Scotland located halfway between Scotlands's two largest cities being about east of Glasgow and west of Edinburgh...

) is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 former footballer who played as a forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

.

Irvine was raised in West Lothian

West Lothian

West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

, where he attended St Mary's School in Bathgate

Bathgate

Bathgate is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the M8 motorway west of Livingston. Nearby towns are Blackburn, Armadale, Whitburn, Livingston, and Linlithgow. Edinburgh Airport is away...

. He showed early footballing promise and was capped by Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 at Schoolboy level. He started his senior football career with Dundee United

Dundee United F.C.

Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...

, then in the Second Division

Scottish Football League

The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...

, initially on a part-time basis as he completed a motor mechanic apprenticeship

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...

. Under the stewardship of Jerry Kerr

Jerry Kerr

Jasper Jerald 'Jerry' Kerr was a Scottish football player and manager, best known as manager of Dundee United from 1959 to 1971...

 United gained promotion and Irvine's striking partnership with Denis Gillespie provided more than 150 goals as they consolidated a position in the Scottish top flight over the following seasons.

However at the end of the 1963-64 season

1963-64 in Scottish football

The 1963–64 season was the 67th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: RangersRelegated: Queen of the South, East Stirlingshire-Scottish League Division Two:...

, Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 manager Raich Carter

Raich Carter

Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter was one of the greatest English footballers of the pre-war era...

 bid £25,000 for Irvine's services and he moved to Teesside

Teesside

Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...

. Boro were a mid-table Division Two at the time but despite Irvine becoming a regular goalscorer, they slumped to relegation in 1965-66

1965-66 in English football

The 1965–66 season was the 86th season of competitive football in England.-Diary of the season:7 October 1965: An experiment to broadcast a live game to another ground takes place...

. An instant return to Division Two was secured the following season, although QPR

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 won the league title.

Irvine returned to Scotland in 1967, joining John Harvey's Heart of Midlothian

Heart of Midlothian F.C.

Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...

. He appeared in his first major final in his first season with the Maroons, after playing in every match on route to the 1967-68

1967-68 in Scottish football

The 1967–68 season was the 71st season of Scottish league football.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: Celtic Relegated: Motherwell, Stirling Albion-Scottish League Division Two:Promoted: St...

 Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

 final. However, Dunfermline

Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....

 proved too strong in the Hampden

Hampden Park

Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...

 showpiece, winning 3-1. His following two seasons were decimated by a series of injuries and he was released in 1970. He joined Division Four Barrow

Barrow A.F.C.

Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...

 but hung up his boots when they were voted out of the Football League in 1972.

After his playing retirement he returned to Bathgate, where he found work as a spray-painter. His son Alan later played with Falkirk

Falkirk F.C.

Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

, Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

, Dundee United and Shrewsbury Town

Shrewsbury Town F.C.

Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...

 in the mid-1980s.

External links

• Appearances at londonhearts.com