Oakes Jackie Image 1 Blackburn Rovers 1948

Description

Hamilton, Lanarkshire born outside left Jackie Oakes sstarted his senior football career in England with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1935 signed by Major Frank Buckley, spending 1935-36 at Molineux without making the Wolves first eleven. He then joined Scottish League club Queen of the South signed by manager George McLachlan. He made his Scottish League debut against hometown club Hamilton Academical on 24th April 1937, then he helped Queens finish sixth in the Scottish League in 1939 immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War forced the abandonment of peacetime football.

Oakes played for Scotland in an (unofficial) wartime international in 1945 and after the conflict returned to Palmerston Park, before he was sold to First Division club Blackburn Rovers for £10,000 in February 1947, by when he had scored 16 goals in 79 matches for The Doonhamers. He made his Football League debut against Derby County the same month, but after Blackburn’s relegation the following season he signed for Manchester City in June 1948 after 9 goals in 37 matches for Rovers.

Having finished seventh in the League in his first season at Maine Road, Manchester City suffered relegation in his second season but he then helped The Citizens to promotion at the first time of asking  as they finished runners-up to Preston North End. Oakes scored 9 goals in 79 matches for City during three seasons at the club.

Oakes rejoined Queen of the South in the summer of 1951 signed by Jimmy McKinnell Junior (McKinnell had replaced his father as manager in 1946 before Oakes’ departure to England). Ahead of him lay many great times at Queen of the South, playing alongside in particular, goalkeeper Roy Henderson, the goals king of Queens Jim Patterson and sterling full backs Dougie Sharpe and Jimmy Binning. Bobby Black joined them a year later in 1952.

Oakes scored Queens’ goal in the game with the highest recorded attendance at Palmerston Park. On 23rd February 1952 a staggering crowd of 26,552 squeezed very tightly in to see Queens play in a Scottish Cup third round 3-1 win for Hearts. Late in his Queen of the South career, Oakes was joined by Ivor Broadis, previously of Oakes’ tussles for Manchester City against Sunderland. Oakes played in the 7-1 Boxing Day win against Queen’s Park in 1959. Ivor Broadis scored four of the goals in this match. Sir Alex Ferguson was the Queen’s Park scorer. He recalled this match in recent times, saying “The other reason I remember that game was due to the average age of the Queen of the South forward line, which was probably about 34, with Black, Broadis, Patterson, Dunlop, and Oakes playing. I remember it all too well.”

Shortly after in February 1960, Oakes was joined on the playing staff by another ex-opponent from his days in England’s top division, goalkeeper George Farm. Twenty three years after his debut, Oakes played at Queens until the age of 40 in 1960, clocking up a total of 457 games for the club. Oakes is fourth highest in the club’s record appearances list behind Allan Ball and Iain McChesney and in between team-mates Jim Patterson and Dougie Sharpe. Oakes is twelfth in the Doonhamers all-time goalscoring charts with 81 goals. With the exception of his last season in Dumfries, Oakes’ time as a Queens player was spent in Scotland’s top flight. Oakes then replaced Neil Gibson Junior to become the club trainer for three years.