Jimmy Bonthrone
Scottish footballer, coach, and manager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Bonthrone (16 June 1929 – 7 June 2008)[2] was a Scottish professional football player, coach and manager.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Bonthrone | ||
| Date of birth | 16 June 1929 | ||
| Place of birth | Kinglassie, Fife, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 7 June 2008 (aged 78) | ||
| Position | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949–1957 | East Fife | 222 | (85) |
| 1957–1959 | Dundee | 30 | (15) |
| 1959–1961 | Stirling Albion | 43 | (21) |
| 1961–1962 | Queen of the South | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 301 | (121) | |
| International career | |||
| 1953 | Scotland B[1] | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1963–1969 | East Fife | ||
| 1971–1975 | Aberdeen | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Born in Kinglassie, Fife,[3] Bonthrone's playing career centred on his time with a successful East Fife team,[4] although he also played for Dundee, Stirling Albion and for George Farm at Queen of the South.[3][5] He won the Scottish League Cup as a player with East Fife[6] in 1953.
After retiring as a player, Bonthrone managed East Fife from 1963 until 1969[6][4] before assisting Eddie Turnbull at Aberdeen.[3][6] Bonthrone was assistant manager when Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1970.[5] He was promoted to become the Aberdeen manager in 1971 after Turnbull moved to Hibernian.[3][5][6][4]
Bonthrone managed the Dons from 1971 until his resignation in 1975.[3][5] The club won the Drybrough Cup in 1971 just after he was appointed.[3][6] He gave Willie Miller his debut, but had to contend with the high-profile departures of Martin Buchan and Joe Harper,[5][6] which effectively broke up the team that had been successful under Turnbull.[5][4]
After leaving Aberdeen, he became commercial manager with East Fife before retiring.[5][6]