Moore Jimmy Image 2 Southampton 1920

Description

Felling, Tyne & Wear born inside left Jimmy Moore played his early football at local level, with Boldon Colliery Welfare in 1909 and Jarrow Croft in 1910. He joined  Second Division club Barnsley in August 1911, making his Football League debut at Bradford Park Avenue that October, and shortly before his twentieth birthday he was brought into the first team to replace the injured Bert Leavey in the third replay of the Fourth Round (quarter final) FA Cup match against Bradford City on 21st March 1912, which Barnsley won 3-2. He retained his place for the 1912 FA Cup Final which Barnsley sensationally won 1-0 in extra time in a replay against West Bromwich Albion at Bramall Lane after the first match at The Crystal Palace ended goalless. He had a good shot saved in the first match but the Manchester Guardian felt he didn’t get enough passes in the replay and didn’t have much impact on the game. Unlike several players in the triumphant team who were subsequently sold, Moore continued to play for Barnsley until the cessation of peacetime football due to the onset of the First World War in May 1915, scoring 24 goals in 109 Tykes appearances.

During the War he was employed at the Saunders boat-yard in Cowes on the Isle of Wight where he was engaged on the construction of aeroplanes. He guested in wartime league football for Southampton, playing in 24 matches scoring 22 goals between 1916 and 1919. After the cessation of hostilities, he was persuaded to sign for The Saints on a permanent basis in May 1919, in readiness for the first post-war season. He made his Southern League debut in the opening match of the 1919-20 season, when he scored in a 1-1 draw at home to Exeter City. Moore soon became a fixture at inside left, playing between Fred Foxall on the wing and Bill Rawlings in the centre, and missed only one match during the season, in which the Saints finished in eighth place. Moore was described as “neat in his footwork, (and) also a particularly clever header of the ball (who) seemed to be able to glide it to the feet of his winger with un-nerving accuracy”. He was known as “the man who never smiled” and was notorious for his unhappy expression; despite this, he was a popular player.

Under manager Jimmy McIntyre, The Saints were admitted into the new Third Division of the Football League in 1920, in common with most clubs in the Southern League top flight. Moore was sent off in a home match against Grimsby Town on 4th December 1920; the game was lost 1-0, with Tom Parker missing a penalty in the Saints’ first home defeat of the season. Moore thus became the first Southampton player to be sent off in a Football League fixture. Moore only received a caution for his offence and was able to continue to occupy the inside left position throughout the season, in which he was ever present and scored 12 goals.

Southampton finished their inaugural Football League season as runners-up to Crystal Palace, but only the Champions were promoted. At the end of the season, he was granted a transfer to Leeds United for “family reasons”. In his two seasons at The Dell he made a total of 89 appearances scoring 22 goals. At Leeds, he joined a club who were starting their second season in the Second Division. Moore was brought into the side to lend the team some experience, but in his only season at Elland Road he had to contest the inside left berth with Jack Swann and made only 28 appearances, scoring four goals.

He left Leeds in June 1922, and then spent fleeting amounts of time with a number of clubs: Brighton and Hove Albion (June 1922 to September 1923, 2 goals in 6 matches); Halifax Town (September 1923 to November 1924, 9 goals in 48 appearances); Queens Park Rangers (November 1924 to July 1925, 5 goals in 26 appearances); and finally Crewe Alexandra (July 1925 to May 1926, 6 goals in 11 appearances). He then spent time in The Netherlands, coaching with NAC Breda before returning to live in Barnsley, where he was appointed a director of Barnsley Football Club after the Second World War.