Collins Jimmy Image 1 Cardiff City 1939

Description

Bermondsey born centre forward Jimmy Collins played for Tooting Town as an 18 year old in 1929 before joining Wimbledon in 1930, from where he moved to Queen’s Park Rangers in October 1931, making his Football League debut against Luton Town the next month. In both his two seasons at Loftus Road he scored 2 goals in 11 appearances, and he was released by Rangers having an unsuccessful trial at Bradford City and joining Newport County, for whom he didn’t make the first eleven, before a short spell with non league Tunbridge Wells Rangers. He joined Rochdale in September 1933 and scored 8 goals in 31 appearances at Spotland, earning a move to Stockport County in August 1934, although this was not a success, producing a single goal in 6 appearances. It was only when he joined Walsall in May 1935 that his to date unpromising career took hold. 15 goals in 25 matches included a 4 goal burst against York City in December 1935, which brought him to the attention of Liverpool who signed him the next month for £2500.

Although his Liverpool career, as understudy to Fred Howe, encompassed half a dozen games only in the remainder of 1935-36 and a single game in March 1937, he suddenly caught fire after his next move, to Cardiff City, in May 1937. Collins scored a hat-trick on his home debut against Torquay United, scoring 28 goals in his debut season, and a hat-trick against Watford the following November, and he was a popular figure at the club scoring 50 goals in 92 appearances before World War Two cut his League career short. Described thus while playing for Cardiff: “Short, fair-haired and fast (though built like a barrel), Jimmy Collins along with Bert Turner really began to make things hum after so long in the doldrums. Strong and fearless he was also mustard with both feet.” During the War he guested for Swindon Town and Aberaman Athletic and continued to play for Aberaman after the War until retirement.