| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Bone[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1949-09-22)22 September 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Bridge of Allan,Stirling, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 1 September 2025(2025-09-01) (aged 75) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Fallin Boys Brigade | |||
| Airth Castle Rovers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1972 | Partick Thistle | 107 | (50) |
| 1972–1973 | Norwich City | 39 | (9) |
| 1973–1974 | Sheffield United | 31 | (9) |
| 1974–1975 | Celtic | 7 | (1) |
| 1975–1978 | Arbroath | 97 | (41) |
| 1978–1982 | St Mirren | 131 | (27) |
| 1979 | →Toronto Blizzard (loan) | 25 | (3) |
| 1980 | →Toronto Blizzard (loan) | 25 | (4) |
| 1982–1983 | Hong Kong Rangers | ||
| 1983–1985 | Heart of Midlothian | 56 | (11) |
| 1985–1986 | Arbroath | 30 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 1972–1973 | Scotland under-23[2] | 3 | (1) |
| 1972 | Scotland | 2 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985–1986 | Arbroath | ||
| 1989–1991 | Airdrie | ||
| 1991–1992 | Power Dynamos | ||
| 1992–1996 | St Mirren | ||
| 1996–1997 | East Fife | ||
| 2001–2002 | Stenhousemuir | ||
| 2007 | Partick Thistle (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
James Bone (22 September 1949 – 1 September 2025) was a Scottish professionalfootballer who played as a striker. Following his playing retirement he moved into coaching, and managed a number ofScottish League clubs.
Despite attendingrugby union-playing Stirling High School,[3] Bone developed a keen interest in football, through representative games with his localboys brigade. He began his professional career withPartick Thistle, whom he joined from junior side Airth Castle Rovers in 1968 and spent four seasons with theJags. During this time they suffered their first relegation from theFirst Division sinceseason 1900-01, finishing bottom of the table in1969–70.[note 1] However, the next season Bone was an integral part of the side that won theSecond Division title and instant promotion back to the top flight. He earned another, unexpected, medal in1971–72 when Partick won theScottish League Cup by beating the overwhelming favouritesCeltic.[3] Celtic were the reigning League champions and had beenEuropean Cup finalists only two years earlier but Bone's 37th-minute goal helped Partick to a 4–0 halftime lead, theJags eventually winning 4–1.[citation needed]
Bone movedsouth of the border in February 1972, joiningNorwich City in a£30,000 deal.[3] Noted for his very fast runs down the wing, he helped Norwich secure the second division championship at the end of the1971–72 season and scored the club's first ever goal inDivision One at the start of the following campaign. He joinedSheffield United for £30,000 in March 1973.[citation needed]
Bone made further moves toCeltic (£25,000) andArbroath (£12,000) in 1974 and 1975 respectively.[4] He stayed with theRed Lichties for three seasons but his consistent scoring was not enough to gain them promotion to the new Premier Division, following the league reconstruction of1975–76.[citation needed]
In January 1978 Bone became one ofAlex Ferguson's last signings asSt Mirren manager, moving to thePaisley club for £25,000.[3] He was appointedcaptain by Ferguson's successor,Jim Clunie, and helped the side to victory in theAnglo-Scottish Cup and qualification for theUEFA Cup in the1979–80 season. He moved toHong Kong Rangers in 1981 and returned to Scotland withHeart of Midlothian in August 1983.[citation needed]
Bone was one of several veterans in the "Hearts" team and as a result the side was caustically dubbedDad's Army.[note 2] However, the recently promoted side performed above expectations, finishing fifth in the League and qualifying for European competition. Bone scored several important goals, including the winner as Hearts defeatedderby rivalsHibernian atTynecastle for the first time in ten years.[4] The following year he notched the side's 6,000th League goal.[3] He left to take up the role ofplayer-manager at Arbroath in February 1985.[citation needed]
Bone stayed with Arbroath for almost two years, before moving to another former club St Mirren in December 1986, asAlex Smith's assistant manager. The side won theScottish Cup for the first time in 28 years that season, while maintaining a safe position in the Premier Division. He left the Paisley side in April 1988 following a public dispute with strikerFrank McGarvey.[citation needed]
After a brief stint coaching withDundee United, he returned to management with First DivisionAirdrie, where he won promotion to the Premier Division in 1991 before resigning. He then spent a year in charge of Zambian sidePower Dynamos, where he won theAfrican Cup Winners' Cup in 1991.[5]
Bone then returned to St Mirren as manager, but in four seasons he was unable to gain promotion with theSaints and eventually resigned in 1996. He spent one season asEast Fife's manager before becoming assistant toJocky Scott atDundee. Dundee won theFirst Division under them in 1998.[6] They also secured their firstDundee derby win atDens Park since 1989 in May 2000.[7]
In 2000, he coachedSouth African Premier Division side Wits University F.C. now calledBidvest Wits. Bone was appointedStenhousemuir manager in September 2001,[8] but again his tenure lasted only one season. He served asAlex Smith's assistant atRoss County between 2002 and 2004, beforeDick Campbell made him his assistant atPartick Thistle in 2005. When Campbell was sacked in March 2007, Bone assumed the role of caretaker manager for the last two months of the season.[9] He left Partick after their appointment ofIan McCall as manager on 25 May 2007. The following December he moved south of the border to assist fellow ScotsmanBobby Williamson atChester City but left the position just two months later after a poor run of form.[10]
Bone died on 1 September 2025, at the age of 75.[11][12]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 October 1972 | Parken Stadium,Copenhagen,Denmark |  Denmark | 1–4 | Win | 1974 FIFA WC qual. | |||||
| Correct as of 7 October 2015[13] | |||||||||||
Norwich City
Partick Thistle
St Mirren
Heart of Midlothian
Airdrieonians
Power Dynamos
St Mirren
Dundee