McConnell Jimmy Image 1 Crewe Alexandra 1932

Description

Ayr born centre forward Jimmy McConnell began his football career with Auchinleck Talbot and served in the Army during the First World War, and after the War he joined Scottish League club Kilmarnock, scoring on his Scottish League debut and only appearance for Killy against Clydebank in September 1920. In February 1921, he joined Stevenston United and, his professional career began with Nithsdale Wanderers in May 1921.

After signing for Glasgow Celtic in 1925 and spending 1925-26 at Celtic Park without making their first eleven, in 1926, McConnell moved to the United States where he joined American Soccer League club Springfield Babes. He played only three matches with Springfield before being sent to Providence Clamdiggers, where he scored 17 goals in 21 matches. In August 1927, McConnell moved to Bethlehem Steel. He got off to a quick start, scoring seven goals in Bethlehem’s first eight games of the season. When his production dried up, Bethlehem shipped him to J&P Coats and he scored 12 goals in 28 matches during their 1927-28 campaign.

In 1928, McConnell moved to English Third Division (North) club  Carlisle United for their first season of League football and made his Football League debut in their inaugural match at Accrington Stanley that August, McConnell lit the blue touch paper, in an incredible season he scored hat-tricks against Hartlepools United, Southport (home and away) and Ashington, with a phenomenal 42 goals in 42 League matches, He followed this up with 29 goals the next season including two 4 goal hauls against Wrexham and Barrow in addition to a hat-trick against Chesterfield, and another sensational 40 goal spree in 1930-31 which included two more 4 goal bursts and 4 hat-tricks. His final season featured a modest 21 goals with a single hat-trick against Rochdale in January 1932 and after 132 goals in 160 matches for Carlisle United he joined Crewe Alexandra in the summer of 1932. He holds both Carlisle’s record for most overall goals and most goals in a single season.

However his best days were perhaps inevitably behind him and in his single season at Gresty Road he scored 22 goals in 37 matches, with a hat-trick against Mansfield Town in February 1933, and he finished his career with a season at Rotherham United, scoring 5 times in 24 matches in 1933-34 before returning to Nithsdale Wanderers at the end of the season, his last recorded club.