| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Harris[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1933-08-18)18 August 1933[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Birkenhead, England | ||
| Date of death | April 2022(2022-04-00) (aged 88) | ||
| Position | Centre forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1948–1951 | Everton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1951–1960 | Everton | 191 | (65) |
| 1960–1964 | Birmingham City | 93 | (37) |
| 1964–1966 | Oldham Athletic | 29 | (9) |
| 1966 | Tranmere Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| 1966 | Rhyl | ||
| 1966–1967 | St Patrick's Athletic | 6 | (2) |
| 1967–? | Ellesmere Port Town | ||
| International career | |||
| 1956 | England U23 | 1 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
James Harris (18 August 1933 – April 2022) was an English professionalfootballer who played as acentre forward forEverton andBirmingham City in theFirst Division. The strengths of his game were his pace and a clear eye for goal.
Harris made his debut for Everton, replacingDave Hickson, in 1955 and finished his debut season as the club's top scorer with 21 goals in all competitions.[2] He was also capped forEngland under-23 that season, scoring in a 3–1 win againstScotland under-23 atHillsborough in February 1956.[3] When moved tooutside right on Hickson's return in 1957 he was able to use his pace and still kept scoring. The following season,1957–58, he scored ahat-trick away atTottenham Hotspur only for Everton to lose 10–4.[4]
In 1960, having scored 72 goals in 207 appearances in all competitions for Everton,[2] Harris was sold toBirmingham City for a fee of £20,000.[5] He was the club's top scorer in each of his first two seasons at Birmingham City, and in four years scored 53 goals in 113 games in all competitions.[5] He played in their1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup campaign when they reached the final againstRoma, and was largely responsible for them getting that far. In the semi-final againstInter Milan he scored three times, including the first goal of the 2–1 win at theSan Siro,[6] the only time Inter had lost at home to an English club untilArsenal repeated the feat over forty years later.[7] He won his only major medal when he played on the winning side in the1963 Football League Cup Final.
After leaving Birmingham he moved on toThird Division clubOldham Athletic,[1] and played once in theLeague Cup forTranmere Rovers of theFourth Division.[8] He signed forCheshire League clubRhyl in September 1966,[9] but injury delayed his debut,[10] and, after reportedly agreeing a deal with struggling Irish clubSligo Rovers,[11] Harris signed instead forSt Patrick's Athletic on 19 October.[12]and made his debut that night in aLeague of Ireland Shield game againstShamrock Rovers. In his second Shield game he got his first goal for Pats which sealed the club's participation in the following season'sInter-Cities Fairs Cup.[citation needed] He made hisLeague of Ireland debut on the opening day of the1966–67 season at Waterford.[citation needed] His first league goal came in November againstDundalk.[13] In three months atRichmond Park, Harris scored three goals in eight total appearances.[citation needed] He returned to the Cheshire League in February 1967 withEllesmere Port Town,[14] where he was later appointedplayer-manager.[15]
Harris married Joan Boardman in 1967.[16] His death was reported on 17 April 2022.[17]
Birmingham City
Individual