Bust of James outside the: Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea. | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Mark James | ||
Date of birth | (1957-03-23)23 March 1957 | ||
Place of birth | Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales | ||
Date of death | 18 February 1998(1998-02-18) (aged 40) | ||
Place of death | Llanelli, Wales | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1973β1983 | Swansea City | 393 | (102) |
1983β1984 | Stoke City | 48 | (6) |
1984β1987 | Queens Park Rangers | 87 | (5) |
1987β1988 | Leicester City | 23 | (0) |
1988β1990 | Swansea City | 90 | (16) |
1990β1992 | Bradford City | 89 | (6) |
1992β1993 | Cardiff City | 51 | (2) |
1993β1994 | Merthyr Tydfil | 16 | (2) |
1994β1995 | Barry Town | 32 | (1) |
1996β1998 | Llanelli | 35 | (1) |
Total | 864 | (141) | |
International career | |||
1978β1988 | Wales | 46 | (7) |
Managerial career | |||
1993β1994 | Merthyr Tydfil | ||
1996β1998 | Llanelli | ||
*Club domestic league appearances. And goals |
Robert Mark James (23 March 1957 β 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 total of seven goals."
He was a talented utility player who contributed greatlyββto Swansea City's rise from theββFourth Divisionββto 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."
Careerβ»
James was born in Gorseinon and began his career with local side Swansea City. He made his debut at the end of the 1972β73 season which ended with Swansea being relegated to the Fourth Division. They slowly recovered and James 16 goals in 1976β77 and 17 in 1977β78 helping the Swans gain promotion back to the Football League Third Division. He then scored a career best of 21 in 1978β79 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 1983β84 scoring seven goals. But with the team struggling in 1984β85 he was sold to Queens Park Rangers Β£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 3β0 by, Oxford United. At the end of the 1986β87 season, he joined Leicester City who had just been relegated to the Second Division.
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 1992β93, 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 Llaneli in 1996. But collapsed and died while playing for them against Porthcawl on 18 February 1998. He was 40 years old.
Legacyβ»
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 Β£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 statisticsβ»
Clubβ»
Source:
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Swansea City | 1972β73 | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
1973β74 | Fourth Division | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
1974β75 | Fourth Division | 42 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 8 | |
1975β76 | Fourth Division | 45 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 8 | |
1976β77 | Fourth Division | 46 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 16 | |
1977β78 | Fourth Division | 42 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 17 | |
1978β79 | Third Division | 43 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 21 | |
1979β80 | Second Division | 29 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 8 | |
1980β81 | Second Division | 35 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 8 | |
1981β82 | First Division | 42 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 14 | |
1982β83 | First Division | 40 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 9 | |
Total | 393 | 102 | 21 | 5 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 445 | 113 | ||
Stoke City | 1983β84 | First Division | 40 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 7 |
1984β85 | First Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
Total | 48 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 7 | ||
Queens Park Rangers | 1984β85 | First Division | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
1985β86 | First Division | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
1986β87 | First Division | 39 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
Total | 87 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 6 | ||
Leicester City | 1987β88 | Second Division | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
Total | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
Swansea City | 1987β88 | Fourth Division | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
1988β89 | Third Division | 41 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 9 | |
1989β90 | Third Division | 30 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 5 | |
Total | 90 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 108 | 17 | ||
Bradford City | 1990β91 | Third Division | 46 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 5 |
1991β92 | Third Division | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 3 | |
Total | 89 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 108 | 8 | ||
Cardiff City | 1992β93 | Third Division | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 2 |
1993β94 | Second Division | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 1 | |
Total | 51 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 62 | 3 | ||
Merthyr Tydfil | 1993β94 | Football Conference | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
1994β95 | Football Conference | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | ||
Barry Town | 1994β95 | League of Wales | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
Llanelli | 1995β96 | League of Wales | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 |
Career Total | 864 | 141 | 37 | 6 | 61 | 8 | 29 | 3 | 991 | 158 |
- 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.
Internationalβ»
Source:
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Wales | 1978 | 1 | 0 |
1979 | 6 | 1 | |
1981 | 2 | 1 | |
1982 | 7 | 2 | |
1983 | 5 | 2 | |
1984 | 8 | 1 | |
1985 | 5 | 0 | |
1986 | 6 | 0 | |
1987 | 5 | 0 | |
1988 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 46 | 7 |
Honoursβ»
- Swansea City
- Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion: 1977β78
- Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 1978β79
- Football League Second Division third-place promotion: 1980β81
- Football League Fourth Division play-off winner: 1987β88
- Queens Park Rangers
- Football League Cup runner-up: 1986
- Cardiff City
- Football League Third Division champions: 1992β93
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City The Modern Era β A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
- ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987β88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ Robbie James at Post War English & Scottish Football League AβZ Player's Transfer Database
- ^ "Robbie James". This is South Wales. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Sporting Heroes β QPR
- ^ Ivan Ponting (21 February 1998). "Obituary: Robbie James". The Independent. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ^ "Swans' legend memorial unveiling". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ "Robbie James Wall of Fame". Swansea City Official Website. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ Robbie James at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ James, Robbie at National-Football-Teams.com
External linksβ»
- Robbie James at Post War English & Scottish Football League AβZ Player's Transfer Database
- 1957 births
- 1998 deaths
- Footballers from Swansea
- Swansea City A.F.C. players
- Stoke City F.C. players
- Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
- Leicester City F.C. players
- Bradford City A.F.C. players
- Cardiff City F.C. players
- Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players
- Barry Town United F.C. players
- Llanelli Town A.F.C. players
- Wales men's international footballers
- Welsh men's footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- Cymru Premier managers
- English Football League players
- Llanelli Town A.F.C. managers
- Association football players who died while playing
- Welsh football managers
- Sport deaths in Wales