Jimmy Croal
Scottish footballer (1885–1939)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Anderson Croal (27 July 1885 – 16 September 1939) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Falkirk, Rangers, Chelsea and Scotland.[2] He was judged to be a clever inside left who when paired with Bob McNeil was very effective.[5]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Anderson Croal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 July 1885 | ||
| Place of birth | Hutchesontown, Scotland[2] | ||
| Date of death | 16 September 1939 (aged 54)[3] | ||
| Place of death | Yeovil, England[4] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Inside left | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Falkirk Juniors | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1905–1910 | Rangers | 3 | (0) |
| 1906–1907 | → Ayr Parkhouse (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| → Alloa Athletic (loan) | |||
| → Dunfermline Athletic (loan) | |||
| 1910–1914 | Falkirk | 97 | (31) |
| 1914–1922 | Chelsea | 113 | (22) |
| 1919 | → Falkirk (guest) | 10 | (0) |
| → Dunfermline Athletic (guest) | |||
| 1921–1923 | Fulham | 36 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 1913–1914 | Scotland | 3 | (0) |
| 1913–1914 | Scottish League XI | 3 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
Croal was a lively inside left, who joined Rangers in 1905 from junior football.[4] However, he failed to make the breakthrough to the first team and went out on loan to Ayr Parkhouse, Alloa Athletic and Dunfermline Athletic,[3] before finally leaving Ibrox to sign for Falkirk for a £10 fee in November 1910.[4] At Brockville, his career blossomed, and he won the Scottish Cup in 1913, as well as three international caps for Scotland and five appearances for the Scottish League XI.[4][6] Croal transferred to Chelsea from Falkirk in April 1914.[7][5] Chelsea paid £2,000 for him and he remained at Stamford Bridge until 1922. He was a member of the Chelsea side that reached the 1915 FA Cup Final.[5] He made a total of 130 appearances for Chelsea, scoring a total of 26 goals.[8] Croal then spent two-and-a-half seasons with Fulham before retiring.[9]
Personal life
Croal was a schoolmaster by profession.[2] In the summer of 1916, two years since the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted as a private in the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[10] By March 1918 he had risen to the rank of corporal and finished the war as an acting sergeant.[4][10]
Honours
Falkirk
