James McStay (1 April 1895 – 31 December 1973) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He spent most of his career at Celtic, and was a captain and manager for the club.
Career A full back (successfully converted from left half by manager Willie Maley), he joined Celtic in 1920 and took over the club captaincy from his elder brother Willie McStay in 1929. The siblings played together 246 times for CelticWilliam McStay Managers & Teammates, FitbaStats as well in as one Scottish League XI match in 1926 and a Scottish Football Association summer tour of North America in 1927; however unlike Willie, Jimmy never gained a full international cap. Taking all cups into account he played in exactly 500 matches for Celtic, ranking 14th on the club's all-time list and making the most appearances overall for the Hoops without being selected for his country (Charlie Shaw holds the unwanted record in terms of Scottish Football League matches).
McStay managed Celtic between 9 February 1940 and 23 July 1945 but this coincided with the suspension of the League and Scottish Cup during wartime, meaning he never had the opportunity to manage the club in official competitions. He also managed Irish club Brideville and Alloa Athletic prior to his appointment at Celtic, and afterwards took charge of Hamilton Academical (where he had also finished his playing career, appearing for Accies in the 1935 Scottish Cup Final aged 40).75 years since Accies' Scottish Cup final against Rangers, Daily Record, 15 April 2010
In addition to Willie and Jimmy, another McStay brother, Francis, was also a footballer, played for Motherwell in the 1910s.Where Ayr Failed Skilful Wing Play At Fir Park. "McStay in particular had much aggressiveness in his movements, and in style as well as personal appearance bore a striking resemblance to his brother, whom he was opposing." Daily Record, 30 March 1914. Scan via London Hearts Supporters Club Their great-great-nephews Paul and Willie and Raymond played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s (Paul also captaining Celtic and gaining 76 caps for Scotland).
Honours Player CelticCeltic player James McStay, FitbaStats Scottish League: 1925–26 Scottish Cup: 1922-23, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1930–31, 1932–33 Glasgow Cup: 1927–28, 1930–31
Manager Alloa Athletic Scottish Division Two promotion : 1938–39
Celtic Glasgow Cup: 1940–41 Glasgow Charity Cup: 1942–43 Victory in Europe Cup: 1945
Hamilton Academical Lanarkshire Cup: 1951–52
Managerial statistics TeamFromToRecordGWDLWin %Alloa AthleticAlloa Athletic manager Jimmy McStay, FitbaStatsAugust 1938February 1940CelticCeltic manager James McStay, FitbaStatsFebruary 1940June 1945Hamilton AcademicalHamilton Academical manager Jimmy McStay, FitbaStatsFebruary 1946April 1951Total
Does not include wartime matches with Alloa; P20, W10, D2, L8, WP50% No competitive games played during his time at Celtic; wartime totals P220, W112, D38, L70, WP50.9% Does not include wartime matches with Hamilton; P11, W2, D2, L7, WP18.1% Wartime grand total: P251, W124, D42, L85, WP49.4%
References
External links