Robbie James

Robert Mark "Robbie" James (23 March 1957[2] – 18 February 1998) was a Welsh international footballer who played for many teams including Swansea City, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers.[2] He represented his country on 47 occasions over a period of ten years, scoring a total of seven goals.[2]

For other people named Robert James, see Robert James (disambiguation).

Robbie James
Bust of James outside the Liberty Stadium, Swansea.
Personal information
Full name Robert Mark James[1]
Date of birth (1957-03-23)23 March 1957[1]
Place of birth Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales[1]
Date of death 18 February 1998(1998-02-18) (aged 40)[1]
Place of death Llanelli, Wales[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1983 Swansea City 393 (102)
1983–1984 Stoke City 48 (6)
1984–1987 Queens Park Rangers 87 (5)
1987–1988 Leicester City 23 (0)
1988–1990 Swansea City 90 (16)
1990–1992 Bradford City 89 (6)
1992–1993 Cardiff City 51 (2)
1993–1994 Merthyr Tydfil 16 (2)
1994–1995 Barry Town 32 (1)
1996–1998 Llanelli 35 (1)
Total 864 (141)
National team
1978–1988 Wales 46 (7)
Teams managed
1993–1994 Merthyr Tydfil
1996–1998 Llanelli
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was a talented utility player who contributed greatly to Swansea City's rise from the Fourth Division to the First Division between 1978 and 1981, and helped them finish sixth in their first top division campaign. He played a total of 783 English league games between 1973 and 1994, scoring 134 goals. His league appearance tally is one of the highest of any player in the history of English football.[3]

Career

James was born in Gorseinon and began his career with local side Swansea City. He made his debut at the end of the 1972–73 season which ended with Swansea being relegated to the Fourth Division. They slowly recovered and James 16 goals in 1976–77 and 17 in 1977–78 helping the Swans gain promotion back to the Football League Third Division. He then scored a career best of 21 in 1978–79 as Swansea gained back to back promotions. After two seasons in the Second Division they completed a remarkable rise gaining promotion to the First Division for the first time in the club's history. James took to the top flight well scoring 14 goals in 46 appearances as Swansea finished in sixth position. However the following season saw Swansea relegated back to the Second Division and James joined Stoke City.[1]

He played in 46 matches for Stoke in 1983–84 scoring seven goals but with the team struggling in 1984–85 he was sold to Queens Park Rangers £100,000.[1] He spent three seasons at Loftus Road, helping the Hoops preserve their First Division status and reach the 1986 Football League Cup Final, where they were beaten 3–0 by Oxford United. At the end of the 1986–87 season, he joined Leicester City who had just been relegated to the Second Division.[4]

After a season with Leicester he moved back to Swansea City, and later played for Bradford City and Cardiff City. With Cardiff, he helped them to win the Third Division in 1992–93, his last season in the English Football League after 20 years. After his time with Cardiff he moved into Non-League football with Merthyr Tydfil.[2] He became player-manager of Llaneli in 1996, but collapsed and died while playing for them against Porthcawl on 18 February 1998. He was 40 years old.[5]

Legacy

In 2007, a bust of James was unveiled outside Swansea's Liberty Stadium. The bust, located next to the stadium's ticket office, was made possible by fans raising nearly £7,000 in memory of the midfielder, who played almost 400 games for the club.[6]

On 22 September 2012, the first 20 names were inducted into the 'Robbie James Wall of Fame', a hall of fame commemorating notable former Swansea players and managers. The Wall of Fame, located beneath the bust of James at the Liberty Stadium, will eventually consist of a total of 100 plaques, unveiled over a period of 5 years.[7]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[8]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Swansea City 1972–73 Third Division 1000000010
1973–74 Fourth Division 282001000292
1974–75 Fourth Division 428200000448
1975–76 Fourth Division 458101000478
1976–77 Fourth Division 46161062005316
1977–78 Fourth Division 42165120004917
1978–79 Third Division 43154254005221
1979–80 Second Division 296522000368
1980–81 Second Division 358102000388
1981–82 First Division 42141010204614
1982–83 First Division 409104050509
Total 39310221524670446113
Stoke City 1983–84 First Division 406105100467
1984–85 First Division 80002000100
Total 486107100567
Queens Park Rangers 1984–85 First Division 202000000202
1985–86 First Division 281106000351
1986–87 First Division 392413000463
Total 8755190001016
Leicester City 1987–88 Second Division 230004010280
Total 230004010280
Swansea City 1987–88 Fourth Division 193100040243
1988–89 Third Division 419302020489
1989–90 Third Division 304102031365
Total 901650409110817
Bradford City 1990–91 Third Division 463205141575
1991–92 Third Division 433204020513
Total 8964091611088
Cardiff City 1992–93 Third Division 422102040492
1993–94 Second Division 90002021131
Total 512104061623
Merthyr Tydfil 1993–94 Football Conference 152000000152
1994–95 Football Conference 1000000010
Total 162000000162
Barry Town 1994–95 League of Wales 321000000321
Llanelli 1995–96 League of Wales 351000000351
Career Total 864141376618293991158
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Full Members Cup, Football League play-offs, Football League Trophy and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

International

Source:[9]

National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 197810
197961
198121
198272
198352
198481
198550
198660
198750
198810
Total467

Honours
The Robbie James Wall of Fame, April 2014
Swansea City
Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff City

References
  1. Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  2. Robbie James at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
  3. "Robbie James". This is South Wales. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  4. Sporting Heroes – QPR
  5. Ivan Ponting (21 February 1998). "Obituary: Robbie James". The Independent. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  6. "Swans' legend memorial unveiling". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  7. "Robbie James Wall of Fame". Swansea City Official Website. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  8. Robbie James at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  9. James, Robbie at National-Football-Teams.com
  • Robbie James at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
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