Jim Mallan Explained

Jim Mallan
Birth Date:25 January 1924[1]
Birth Place:Govanhill, Scotland
Position:Right back
Clubs1:Pollok
Years2:1942–1953
Clubs2:Celtic
Caps2:90
Goals2:0
Years3:1953–1956
Clubs3:St Mirren
Caps3:65
Goals3:0
Totalcaps:155
Totalgoals:0
Nationalyears1:1949
Nationalteam1:Scottish League XI
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0

James Mallan (25 January 1924 – 27 May 1969) was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic and St Mirren as a defender.

Career

Having joined Celtic as a teenager, his time at the club coincided with one of the poorest eras in their history in terms of performances and trophies. He did win the Glasgow Cup in 1948–49, and had also featured regularly for four seasons during World War II which are not counted as official matches.[2] At the end of that period he was sent off in a controversial 1946 Victory Cup match against Rangers which led to a lengthy suspension from the Scottish Football Association, so he was not able to make his Scottish Football League debut until December 1946.[2]

He was selected for the Scottish League XI once, in 1949,[3] but was criticised for his performance in a 3–0 defeat to the Football League XI, which he felt was unjust.[4]

At St Mirren, he was responsible for scoring an own goal in the 1955 Scottish League Cup Final against Aberdeen, who went on to win the match 2–1.[5] He retired from playing at the end of the season, and later ran a public house in Paisley. He died in 1969, aged 45.

Personal life

Jimmy was the first of four generations of Mallan men to play football to a high level. His son, also Jimmy, played Junior football as a striker, scoring a hat-trick for Johnstone Burgh in the 1964 Scottish Junior Cup final.[6] [7] His grandson Stevie, a striker born in 1967, played for several Scottish Football League clubs in the 1990s, and after moving to Junior football in his mid-30s, played for several more years and appeared in the 2011 Scottish Junior Cup Final at the age of 44.[8] His great-grandson, also Stevie, born in 1996, made his debut as a midfielder for St Mirren in November 2014[9] and played 100 games for the club before moving to England, later signing for Hibernian.

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/record-results?search_type=people&dl_cat=statutory&dl_rec=statutory-births&surname=Mallan&surname_so=exact&forename=James&forename_so=fuzzy&from_year=1920&to_year=1940&county=GLASGOW%20CITY&record_type=stat_births Statutory registers - Births - Search results
  2. Web site: [Celtic player] Mallan, Jim ]. FitbaStats . 13 June 2017.
  3. Web site: [SFL player] Jimmy Mallan]. London Hearts Supoporters Club. 13 June 2017.
  4. https://ntvceltic.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/tales-of-jimmy-mallan/ Tales of Jimmy Mallan
  5. https://spfl.co.uk/news/life-long-st-mirren-fan-undertook-epic-journey-to-see-league-cup-final-win-for-hearts Lifelong St. Mirren fan undertook epic journey to see League Cup Final win for Hearts
  6. News: On The Record. . 20 October 2008. 13 June 2017.
  7. Book: Purdie, Tom. Purdie. The Scottish Junior Cup 1946-1975. 2011. Amberley Publishing. 9781445604176.
  8. News: Auchinleck Talbot 2-1 Musselburgh Athletic. BBC Sport. 29 May 2011. 13 June 2017.
  9. News: Mullen. Scott. Buddies boss can still beat the boos. 27 December 2014. Evening Times. 24 November 2014.