Robert Mark James (23 March 1957 – 18 February 1998) was a Welsh international footballer who played for many teams including Swansea City, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers. He represented his country on 47 occasions over a period of ten years, scoring a total of seven goals.
He was a talented utility player who contributed greatly to Swansea City's rise from the Fourth Division to the First Division between 1978 and 1981, and helped them finish sixth in their first top division campaign. He played a total of 783 English league games between 1973 and 1994, scoring 134 goals. His league appearance tally is one of the highest of any player in the history of English football.
He is also one of the few footballers to have made over 1,000 competitive appearances (the first Welsh to achieve the feat, since the time matches are recorded).
Career James was born in Gorseinon and began his career with local side Swansea City. He made his debut at the end of the 1972–73 season which ended with Swansea being relegated to the Fourth Division. They slowly recovered and James' 16 goals in 1976–77 and 17 in 1977–78 helping the Swans gain promotion back to the Football League Third Division. He then scored a career best of 21 in 1978–79 as Swansea gained back to back promotions. After two seasons in the Second Division they completed a remarkable rise gaining promotion to the First Division for the first time in the club's history. James took to the top flight well scoring 14 goals in 46 appearances as Swansea finished in sixth position. However the following season saw Swansea relegated back to the Second Division and James joined Stoke City.
He played in 46 matches for Stoke in 1983–84 scoring seven goals but with the team struggling in 1984–85 he was sold to Queens Park Rangers £100,000. He spent three seasons at Loftus Road, helping the Hoops preserve their First Division status and reach the 1986 Football League Cup Final, where they were beaten 3–0 by Oxford United. At the end of the 1986–87 season, he joined Leicester City who had just been relegated to the Second Division.Sporting Heroes – QPR
After a season with Leicester he moved back to Swansea City, and later played for Bradford City and Cardiff City. With Cardiff, he helped them to win the Third Division in 1992–93, his last season in the English Football League after 20 years. After his time with Cardiff he moved into Non-League football with Merthyr Tydfil. He became player-manager of Llanelli in 1996, but collapsed and died while playing for them against Porthcawl on 18 February 1998. He was 40 years old.
Legacy In 2007, a bust of James was unveiled outside Swansea's Liberty Stadium. The bust, located next to the stadium's ticket office, was made possible by fans raising nearly £7,000 in memory of the midfielder, who played almost 400 games for the club.
On 22 September 2012, the first 20 names were inducted into the 'Robbie James Wall of Fame', a hall of fame commemorating notable former Swansea players and managers. The Wall of Fame, located beneath the bust of James at the Liberty Stadium, will eventually consist of a total of 100 plaques, unveiled over a period of 5 years.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSwansea City1972–73Third Division10000000101973–74Fourth Division2820010002921974–75Fourth Division4282000004481975–76Fourth Division4581010004781976–77Fourth Division461610620053161977–78Fourth Division421651200049171978–79Third Division431542540052211979–80Second Division2965220003681980–81Second Division35810202240101981–82First Division421410102046141982–83First Division4091040615110Total393102215246103448116Stoke City1983–84First Division4061051004671984–85First Division80002000100Total486107100567Queens Park Rangers1984–85First Division2020000002021985–86First Division2811060003511986–87First Division392413000463Total8755190001016Leicester City1987–88Second Division230004010280Total230004010280Swansea City1987–88Fourth Division1931000402431988–89Third Division4193020204891989–90Third Division304102031365Total901650409110817Bradford City1990–91Third Division4632051415751991–92Third Division433204030523Total8964091711098Cardiff City1992–93Third Division4221020404921993–94Second Division90002021131Total512104061623Merthyr Tydfil1993–94Football Conference1520000001521994–95Football Conference1000000010Total162000000162Barry Town1994–95League of Wales321000000321Llanelli1995–96League of Wales351000000351Career Total864141376618336995161
A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Full Members Cup, Football League play-offs, Football League Trophy and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsWales197810197961198000198121198272198352198481198550198660198750198810Total467
Honours
Swansea City Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion: 1977–78 Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 1978–79 Football League Second Division third-place promotion: 1980–81 Football League Fourth Division play-offs: 1988
Queens Park Rangers Football League Cup runner-up: 1985–86
Cardiff City Football League Third Division: 1992–93
See also List of men's footballers with the most official appearances
References
External links