Robertson James Image 2 Birmingham City 1933

Description

Dundee, Scotland born centre forward James Robertson began his football career with junior clubs Logie United in 1926 and Logie Thistle in 1927 before joining Scottish League Dundee in 1928. In a five and a half year career at Dens Park, he scored 50 goals in 169 games in all competitions, of which 47 goals came from 157 games in the First Division. At the end of the 1930-31 season, Robertson was included in the squad for Scotland’s European tour; he played in two full international matches, a 5-0 defeat to Austria on 16th May 1931 and a 3-0 defeat to Italy four days later.

After 5 years at Dundee he moved to First Division Birmingham in December 1933 in a £1,250 transfer, who saw him as a potential successor to the prolific Joe Bradford, who was coming to the end of his career, with Robertson making his Football League debut at Huddersfield Town the same month. He scored twice in 8 appearances for The Blues including the winner as Birmingham knocked Sheffield United out of the FA Cup in January 1934. However he suffered badly from homesickness, which affected his play, and at the end of the season he returned to Scotland to join First Division club Kilmarnock for a fee of £1,000, playing in Kilmarnock’s 1938 Scottish Cup Final team that lost to East Fife in a replay, later joining Elgin City in 1938 before the Second World War finished his career.