James Paul Holmes (born 11 November 1953) is an Irish former professional footballer. Hailing from Meath Square in The Liberties, he won 30 full international caps for the Republic of Ireland, scoring once.
Career Holmes, a left-back, began his career with St. John Bosco. He joined Coventry City as apprentice and was a member of the FA Youth Cup Final side in 1970. He turned professional in November 1970 and became the Republic of Ireland's youngest ever full international at 17 years, 200 days when he came on as a 74th-minute substitute for Don Givens in the 4–1 defeat in the European Championship Qualifier against Austria at Dalymount Park on 30 May 1971.
He made his league debut later that year in the home game against Leicester City on 4 December and gradually established himself in the Coventry first team. In March 1977, after 8 goals in 143 games for Coventry, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £120,000. A broken leg ended his career at White Hart Lane after 92 games, in which he scored twice. While on international duty, Jimmy broke his leg and complications arose in the setting of the leg.
In February 1981, the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League purchased his contract for £100,000. However, he played only seventeen games over two seasons. During this time he made one final appearance in the Irish national side. In October 1982 he returned to the UK, joining Leicester City on a free transfer, but played only twice before a free transfer took him to Brentford in February 1983. A month later, another free transfer took him to Torquay United, Holmes playing 25 games (3 goals) for Bruce Rioch's side. In November 1983 he moved to Peterborough United, scoring 7 times in 60 games before ending his league career.
He enjoyed a testimonial match in 1985 at Dalymount Park, when an Irish XI beat a Glenn Hoddle XI.
He later became a police officer in the Midlands and works as a chauffeur. As a police officer, he was once called into duty again while on police duty at Coventry City's Highfield Road. When one of the players for a testimonial did not show, Jimmy stepped into the fray. In August 2007 he was formally commended for his bravery in July 2006. He later retired in 2020, during COVID-19.
International career
Jimmy Holmes had quite a remarkable career for Ireland, appearing 30 times around the world and facing footballing greats such as Lev Yashin, Michel Platini and even Péle. He holds the record for the youngest player ever to play for Ireland, in a 4-1 defeat to Austria in May of 1971. His only goal for Eíre was in a 3-0 dominant victory over Norway.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Competition 1 30 May 1971 Dalymount Park, Dublin Austria 1–4 UEFA Euro 1972 Qualifier 2 15 Nov 1972 Dalymount Park, Dublin France 2–1 1974 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 3 13 May 1973 Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow Soviet Union 0–1 1974 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 4 16 May 1973 Olympic Stadium, Wrocław Poland 0–2 Friendly 5 19 May 1973 Parc des Princes, Paris France 1–1 1974 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 6 6 Jun 1973 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Norway 1–1 Friendly 7 21 Oct 1973 Dalymount Park, Dublin Poland 1–0 Friendly 8 5 May 1974 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Brazil 1–2 Friendly 9 30 Oct 1974 Dalymount Park, Dublin Soviet Union 3–0 UEFA Euro 1976 Qualifier 10 21 May 1975 Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Switzerland 0–1 UEFA Euro 1976 Qualifier 11 29 Oct 1975 Dalymount Park, Dublin Turkey 4–0 UEFA Euro 1976 Qualifier 12 24 Mar 1976 Dalymount Park, Dublin Norway 3–0 Friendly 13 26 May 1976 Stadion Miejski, Poznań Poland 0–2 Friendly 14 8 Sep 1976 Wembley Stadium, London England 1–1 Friendly 15 13 Oct 1976 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara Turkey 3–3 Friendly 16 17 Nov 1976 Parc des Princes, Paris France 0–2 1978 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 17 9 Feb 1977 Dalymount Park, Dublin Spain 0–1 Friendly 18 30 Mar 1977 Dalymount Park, Dublin France 1–0 1978 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 19 24 Apr 1977 Dalymount Park, Dublin Poland 0–0 Friendly 20 1 Jun 1977 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Bulgaria 1–2 1978 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 21 12 Oct 1977 Dalymount Park, Dublin Bulgaria 0–0 1978 FIFA World Cup Qualifier 22 5 Apr 1978 Dalymount Park, Dublin Turkey 4–2 Friendly 23 12 Apr 1978 Stadion Śląski, Chorzów Poland 0–3 Friendly 24 21 May 1978 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Norway 0–0 Friendly 25 24 May 1978 Idrætsparken, Copenhagen Denmark 3–3 UEFA Euro 1980 Qualifier 26 20 Sep 1978 Dalymount Park, Dublin Northern Ireland 0–0 UEFA Euro 1980 Qualifier 27 25 Oct 1978 Dalymount Park, Dublin England 1–1 UEFA Euro 1980 Qualifier 28 2 May 1979 Dalymount Park, Dublin Denmark 2–0 UEFA Euro 1980 Qualifier 29 19 May 1979 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Bulgaria 0–1 UEFA Euro 1980 Qualifier 30 24 Feb 1981 Dalymount Park, Dublin Wales 1–3 Friendly
FA Cup career
During his career, Jimmy Holmes appeared regularly in the FA Cup for both Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur. While at Coventry, he played in several campaigns, featuring in victories over Stoke City, Bristol City, and Millwall, as well as defeats to Arsenal, Manchester City, and Newcastle United. Several ties required replays, including matches against Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, and Queens Park Rangers. After transferring to Tottenham Hotspur for the 1977–78 season, Holmes was involved in wins against Altrincham, Wrexham, and Oldham Athletic, before Tottenham’s run was ended by Manchester United. Holmes’ FA Cup career thus included a series of notable cup runs that ended in knockout fixtures against top-flight opposition.
Season Club Opponent Score Round Venue 1973–74 Coventry City Sheffield Wednesday 0–0 Hillsborough 1973–74 Coventry City Sheffield Wednesday 3–1 Highfield Road 1973–74 Coventry City Derby County 0–0 Highfield Road 1973–74 Coventry City Derby County 1–0 Baseball Ground 1973–74 Coventry City Queens Park Rangers 0–0 Highfield Road 1973–74 Coventry City Queens Park Rangers 2–3 Loftus Road 1974–75 Coventry City Norwich City 2–0 Highfield Road 1974–75 Coventry City Arsenal 1–1 Highfield Road 1974–75 Coventry City Arsenal 0–3 Highbury 1975–76 Coventry City Bristol City 2–1 Highfield Road 1975–76 Coventry City Newcastle United 1–1 Highfield Road 1975–76 Coventry City Newcastle United 0–5 St James’ Park 1976–77 Coventry City Millwall 1–0 Highfield Road 1976–77 Coventry City Arsenal 1–3 Highbury 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Altrincham 1–1 White Hart Lane 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Altrincham 0–3 Moss Lane 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Wrexham 3–3 White Hart Lane 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Wrexham 3–2 Racecourse Ground 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Oldham Athletic 0–1 Boundary Park 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Manchester United 1–1 White Hart Lane 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Manchester United 0–2 Old Trafford 1982–83 Torquay United Colchester United 2–0 Layer Road 1982–83 Torquay United Oxford United 1–1 Manor Ground 1982–83 Torquay United Oxford United 2–1 Plainmoor 1982–83 Torquay United Sheffield Wednesday 2–3 Plainmoor 1984–85 Peterborough United Cambridge United 2–0 Abbey Stadium 1984–85 Peterborough United Dagenham 0–1 London Road 1985–86 Peterborough United Bishop's Stortford 2–2 Woodside Park 1985–86 Peterborough United Bishop's Stortford 3–0 London Road 1986–87 Nuneaton Borough Rochdale 0–3 Liberty Ground
League Cup career Jimmy Holmes featured in the League Cup during the 1970s while representing Coventry City and later Tottenham Hotspur. With Coventry City, he appeared in fixtures against Burnley, Hartlepool United, Birmingham City, Darlington, Bristol City, Stoke City, Manchester City, Ipswich Town, Bolton Wanderers, Mansfield Town, Nottingham Forest, and Everton. Following his move to Tottenham Hotspur, he featured in League Cup matches against Wimbledon and Coventry City. His appearances came across several seasons of knockout competition in English football’s secondary domestic cup.
Season Club Opponent Score Round Venue 1971–72 Coventry City Burnley 0–1 Highfield Road 1972–73 Coventry City Hartlepool United 1–0 Highfield Road 1972–73 Coventry City Birmingham City 1–2 St Andrew's 1973–74 Coventry City Darlington 5–1 Highfield Road 1973–74 Coventry City Bristol City 2–2 Ashton Gate 1973–74 Coventry City Bristol City 2–1 Highfield Road 1973–74 Coventry City Stoke City 2–1 Highfield Road 1973–74 Coventry City Manchester City 2–2 Highfield Road 1973–74 Coventry City Manchester City 2–4 Maine Road 1974–75 Coventry City Ipswich Town 1–2 Highfield Road 1975–76 Coventry City Bolton Wanderers 3–1 Burnden Park 1975–76 Coventry City Mansfield Town 0–2 Field Mill 1976–77 Coventry City Bristol City 1–0 Ashton Gate 1976–77 Coventry City Nottingham Forest 3–0 City Ground 1976–77 Coventry City Everton 0–3 Goodison Park 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Wimbledon 4–0 White Hart Lane 1977–78 Tottenham Hotspur Coventry City 2–3 White Hart Lane 1982–83 Torquay United Bristol Rovers 2–2 Eastville Stadium 1982–83 Torquay United Bristol Rovers 0–4 Plainmoor 1983–84 Torquay United Newport County 1–0 Plainmoor 1983–84 Torquay United Manchester City 0–0 Plainmoor 1983–84 Torquay United Manchester City 0–6 Maine Road 1984–85 Peterborough United Sheffield United 0–1 Bramall Lane 1984–85 Peterborough United Sheffield United 2–2 London Road 1985–86 Peterborough United Northampton Town 0–0 London Road 1985–86 Peterborough United Northampton Town 0–2 Sixfields
Career abroad
Jimmy played 17 games for Vancouver Whitecaps. Jimmy faced many teams in the NASL, such as New York Cosmos and Montreal Manic, but many of these teams are now defunct. He also faced teams like SSC Napoli and Sparta Rotterdam. He joined Whitecaps with his Coventry teammate Terry Yorath, and left in 1982 to join Leicester City for his spell at the midlands side. Jimmy played in both Indoor and Outdoor NASL, with indoor games having higher scores as it was more similar to Futsal.
Season Opponent Score Venue Competition 1981 Sparta Rotterdam 4-0 Unknown Venue Unknown Competition 1981 Napoli 1-1 Unknown Venue Unknown Competition 1981 Nottingham Forest 2-2 City Ground International Challenge Match 1982 Chicago Sting 3–2 Unknown Venue NASL 1982 New York Cosmos 0–2 Unknown Venue NASL 1982 Dallas Tornado 3–2 Unknown Venue NASL 1982 Montreal Manic 1–2 Unknown Venue NASL 1982 San Diego Sockers 5-1 Unknown Venue NASL 1982 San Diego Sockers 1-0 Unknown Venue NASL 1982 San Diego Sockers 2-1 Unknown Venue NASL 1981 California Surf 0-3 Unknown Venue Indoor NASL 1981 California Surf 8-5 Unknown Venue Indoor NASL 1981 California Surf 4-0 Unknown Venue Indoor NASL 1981 Edmonton Drillers 9-7 Unknown Venue Indoor NASL 1981 Edmonton Drillers 6-4 Unknown Venue Indoor NASL 1982 San Diego Sockers 4-3 Unknown Venue Indoor NASL 1982 San Diego Sockers 8-4 Unknown Venue Indoor NASL
References
External links Tottenham Hotspur: Jimmy Holmes NASL stats