Young James Image 2 Glasgow Celtic 1912

Description

Kilmarnock, Ayrshire born right half James “Sunny Jim” Young joined Celtic in May 1903 on a free transfer from Southern League Bristol Rovers (having previously played for several clubs for brief periods), and he was to remain with Celtic for the next 14 years until his retirement due to a knee injury in May 1917. Such was the esteem in which he was held that his testimonial match in 1918 at Celtic Park attracted a crowd of 25,000 for a man who had scored 13 goals in 443 appearances for The Bhoys, having become club captain in 1911.

Immensely hard working and tough tackling Young was to forge the perfect link between defence and attack and he was both the heartbeat and lungs of the Celtic side. His tireless running and battling spirit were simply the inspiration for success after success. In that time Young helped Celtic to win fifteen trophies in total, comprising ten Scottish League Championships, including six in a row between 1905 and 1910,  and five Scottish Cups between 1904 and 1914.

Young made one appearance for Scotland in a 1-0 victory over Ireland at Dalymount Park in March 1906. He also represented The Scottish League on six occasions, first playing in a 2-1 defeat to The Football League at Bank Street, Manchester in April 1904 with his final appearance also against The Football League in a 1-1 draw at Ibrox in March 1911.