Jimmy Easson
Encyclopedia
James Ferrier "Jimmy" Easson (3 January 1906 – 1983) was a Scottish footballer who played as an inside-forward for Portsmouth
in the English Football League, helping them reach the FA Cup Final
in 1934. He also made three appearances for the Scotland national team
.
and played for various Scottish junior clubs, including Carnoustie and East Craigie
before joining Dundee
. Portsmouth's Scottish scouts recommended him to manager Jack Tinn
and he came south in 1928.
He moved to the south coast of England in 1928 to join Portsmouth
, then becoming established in the Football League First Division
. He made his debut for the first-team in a 0–0 draw against Manchester United
at Old Trafford
in May 1929, shortly after "Pompey" had been defeated in the 1929 FA Cup Final
. This was followed a few days later by a match at The Dell against Southampton
in the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. This match was played in torrential rain in front of the burnt out remains of the East Stand, which had been destroyed by fire four days earlier. Despite Easson's two goals, the "Saints" won the match 3–2.
Easson soon became a regular member of the Portsmouth side, replacing the ageing David Watson at inside-left and forming a useful partnership with Jack Weddle
. He soon showed his scoring ability, with five goals in his first ten games.
His reputation grew in the 1930–31 season when he scored two hat-tricks within a month of each other, against Manchester United
and Liverpool
, both at Fratton Park
. Shortly afterwards, he was named by the England
selectors for their international side for a match against Ireland, but they realised their mistake when the records were checked for Easson's birthplace. He completed the 1930–31 season with 30 league and cup goals to help Pompey finish fourth in the First Division.
In May 1931, he was selected to join the Scotland national team
on a tour of Europe. His first cap came in a 5–0 defeat against Austria
on 16 May, followed by a match against Switzerland
a week later, when Easson scored the opening goal in a 3–2 victory.
Despite his "frail and small appearance", he became one of the most feared inside forwards in the First Division and his partnership with Weddle made the pair feared throughout the league in the early 1930s. In 1931–32, Easson netted another hat-trick, missed only two games and scored 21 league goals, regularly scoring two in a match to establish himself as a firm favourite at Fratton Park.
His third and final Scotland appearance came in a 3–2 defeat by Wales
on 4 October 1933.
Easson played in the 1934 FA Cup Final defeat against Manchester City
at Wembley and stayed at Fratton Park until March 1939 when he joined Fulham
. By now, he had lost his place at inside-left to Bert Barlow
; his last game for Portsmouth ended identically to the first, against Manchester United with a 0–0 scoreline in December 1938. In his ten years with Portsmouth, he made a total of 312 first-team appearances, scoring 107 goals.
, during which he returned to Scotland and guested for Carnoustie Panmure
.
After the war, he returned to Fratton Park as a trainer, remaining with Portsmouth until July 1950. During his first spell as a trainer, Easson twice helped guide Portsmouth to the Football League championship: in 1948–49 and again the following season.
In 1951, he took up a coaching position at local rivals, Southampton
, where he remained until February 1953. In April 1951, Easson was involved in an altercation with Southampton's Irish international goalkeeper, Hugh Kelly
after a defeat at Leicester City
. After the match, the team stayed in the Midlands to play a friendly match at Boston
. Kelly returned to the team hotel with Ken Chisholm of Coventry City
and two young ladies. When Easson tried to get the ladies to leave, he and Kelly had an argument which culminated in Kelly giving the trainer a black eye
. As a result, Kelly was immediately placed on the transfer-list and never played for the "Saints" again.
Easson returned to Fratton Park for the 1957–58 season.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
in the English Football League, helping them reach the FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
in 1934. He also made three appearances for the Scotland national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
.
Football career
Easson was born in BrechinBrechin
Brechin is a former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin is often described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese , but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era...
and played for various Scottish junior clubs, including Carnoustie and East Craigie
East Craigie F.C.
East Craigie F.C. are a Scottish football club based in Dundee. Their home ground is Craigie Park. Founded in 1880, they are one of the oldest Junior clubs still in existence....
before joining Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
. Portsmouth's Scottish scouts recommended him to manager Jack Tinn
Jack Tinn
Jack Tinn was the manager of the English football club Portsmouth F.C. from 1927-1947. Under Tinn's stewardship Portsmouth won the FA Cup for the first time in their history when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 at Wembley in 1939. The FA Cup was kept safe under his bed throughout the war...
and he came south in 1928.
He moved to the south coast of England in 1928 to join Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, then becoming established in the Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
. He made his debut for the first-team in a 0–0 draw against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
in May 1929, shortly after "Pompey" had been defeated in the 1929 FA Cup Final
1929 FA Cup Final
The 1929 FA Cup Final was contested by Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth at Wembley. Bolton won 2–0, with goals by Billy Butler and Harry Blackmore.- Match details:-Bolton Wanderers:Round 3: Bolton Wanderers 2–0 Oldham Athletic...
. This was followed a few days later by a match at The Dell against Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. This match was played in torrential rain in front of the burnt out remains of the East Stand, which had been destroyed by fire four days earlier. Despite Easson's two goals, the "Saints" won the match 3–2.
Easson soon became a regular member of the Portsmouth side, replacing the ageing David Watson at inside-left and forming a useful partnership with Jack Weddle
Jack Weddle
John Robson "Jack" Weddle in Whitburn, South Tyneside was a former Portsmouth centre forward who played during the interwar and post war period. He is best remembered for Portsmouth's Cup run in the 1933/34 season, scoring a hat-trick against Birmingham in front of a 66,000-strong crowd to take...
. He soon showed his scoring ability, with five goals in his first ten games.
His reputation grew in the 1930–31 season when he scored two hat-tricks within a month of each other, against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, both at Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...
. Shortly afterwards, he was named by the England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
selectors for their international side for a match against Ireland, but they realised their mistake when the records were checked for Easson's birthplace. He completed the 1930–31 season with 30 league and cup goals to help Pompey finish fourth in the First Division.
In May 1931, he was selected to join the Scotland national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
on a tour of Europe. His first cap came in a 5–0 defeat against Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
on 16 May, followed by a match against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
a week later, when Easson scored the opening goal in a 3–2 victory.
Despite his "frail and small appearance", he became one of the most feared inside forwards in the First Division and his partnership with Weddle made the pair feared throughout the league in the early 1930s. In 1931–32, Easson netted another hat-trick, missed only two games and scored 21 league goals, regularly scoring two in a match to establish himself as a firm favourite at Fratton Park.
His third and final Scotland appearance came in a 3–2 defeat by Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
on 4 October 1933.
Easson played in the 1934 FA Cup Final defeat against Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
at Wembley and stayed at Fratton Park until March 1939 when he joined Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
. By now, he had lost his place at inside-left to Bert Barlow
Bert Barlow
Herbert "Bert" Barlow was a professional footballer, who was a member of the Portsmouth team that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 in the 1939 FA Cup Final, in which he scored.-Honours:Portsmouth...
; his last game for Portsmouth ended identically to the first, against Manchester United with a 0–0 scoreline in December 1938. In his ten years with Portsmouth, he made a total of 312 first-team appearances, scoring 107 goals.
Later career
His playing career was brought to an end following the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, during which he returned to Scotland and guested for Carnoustie Panmure
Carnoustie Panmure F.C.
Carnoustie Panmure F.C. are a Scottish Junior football club from the town of Carnoustie, Angus. Formed in 1936, they are nicknamed the Gowfers due to the town's well-established links to the sport of golf...
.
After the war, he returned to Fratton Park as a trainer, remaining with Portsmouth until July 1950. During his first spell as a trainer, Easson twice helped guide Portsmouth to the Football League championship: in 1948–49 and again the following season.
In 1951, he took up a coaching position at local rivals, Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, where he remained until February 1953. In April 1951, Easson was involved in an altercation with Southampton's Irish international goalkeeper, Hugh Kelly
Hugh Kelly (goalkeeper)
Hugh Redmond Kelly was an Irish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs in Northern Ireland and England, making four international appearances for Ireland.-Northern Ireland:...
after a defeat at Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
. After the match, the team stayed in the Midlands to play a friendly match at Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
. Kelly returned to the team hotel with Ken Chisholm of Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
and two young ladies. When Easson tried to get the ladies to leave, he and Kelly had an argument which culminated in Kelly giving the trainer a black eye
Black eye
A black eye , or or 'shiner', is bruising around the eye commonly due to an injury to the face rather than eye injury. The name is given due to the color of bruising. The so-called black eye is caused by bleeding beneath the skin and around the eye...
. As a result, Kelly was immediately placed on the transfer-list and never played for the "Saints" again.
Easson returned to Fratton Park for the 1957–58 season.