 Bust of James outside theSwansea.com Stadium,Swansea. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Mark James[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1957-03-23)23 March 1957[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales[1] | ||
| Date of death | 18 February 1998(1998-02-18) (aged 40)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Llanelli, Wales[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1983 | Swansea City | 393 | (102) |
| 1983–1984 | Stoke City | 48 | (6) |
| 1984–1987 | Queens Park Rangers | 87 | (5) |
| 1987–1988 | Leicester City | 23 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Swansea City | 90 | (16) |
| 1990–1992 | Bradford City | 89 | (6) |
| 1992–1993 | Cardiff City | 51 | (2) |
| 1993–1994 | Merthyr Tydfil | 16 | (2) |
| 1994–1995 | Barry Town | 32 | (1) |
| 1996–1998 | Llanelli | 35 | (1) |
| Total | 864 | (141) | |
| International career | |||
| 1978–1988 | Wales | 46 | (7) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1993–1994 | Merthyr Tydfil | ||
| 1996–1998 | Llanelli | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Mark James (23 March 1957[3] – 18 February 1998) was aWelsh international footballer who played for many teams includingSwansea City,Stoke City andQueens Park Rangers.[3] He represented his country on 47 occasions over a period of ten years, scoring a total of seven goals.[3]
He was a talentedutility player who contributed greatly to Swansea City's rise from the Fourth Division to the First Division between 1978 and 1981, and helped them finish sixth in their first top division campaign. He played a total of 783 English league games between 1973 and 1994, scoring 134 goals. His league appearance tally is one of the highest of any player in the history of English football.[4]
James was born inGorseinon and began his career with local sideSwansea City. He made his debut at the end of the1972–73 season which ended with Swansea being relegated to theFourth Division. They slowly recovered and James' 16 goals in1976–77 and 17 in1977–78 helping the Swans gain promotion back to theFootball League Third Division. He then scored a career best of 21 in1978–79 as Swansea gained back to back promotions. After two seasons in the Second Division they completed a remarkable rise gaining promotion to theFirst Division for the first time in the club's history. James took to the top flight well scoring 14 goals in 46 appearances as Swansea finished in sixth position. However the following season saw Swansea relegated back to the Second Division and James joinedStoke City.[1]
He played in 46 matches for Stoke in1983–84 scoring seven goals but with the team struggling in1984–85 he was sold toQueens Park Rangers £100,000.[1] He spent three seasons atLoftus Road, helping the Hoops preserve their First Division status and reach the1986 Football League Cup Final, where they were beaten 3–0 byOxford United. At the end of the1986–87 season, he joinedLeicester City who had just been relegated to the Second Division.[5]
After a season with Leicester he moved back toSwansea City, and later played forBradford City andCardiff City. With Cardiff, he helped them to win theThird Division in1992–93, his last season in the EnglishFootball League after 20 years. After his time with Cardiff he moved intoNon-League football withMerthyr Tydfil.[3] He became player-manager ofLlaneli in 1996, but collapsed and died while playing for them againstPorthcawl on 18 February 1998. He was 40 years old.[6]
In 2007, a bust of James was unveiled outside Swansea'sLiberty Stadium. The bust, located next to the stadium's ticket office, was made possible by fans raising nearly £7,000 in memory of the midfielder, who played almost 400 games for the club.[7]
On 22 September 2012, the first 20 names were inducted into the 'Robbie James Wall of Fame', a hall of fame commemorating notable former Swansea players and managers. The Wall of Fame, located beneath the bust of James at the Liberty Stadium, will eventually consist of a total of 100 plaques, unveiled over a period of 5 years.[8]
Source:[9]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Swansea City | 1972–73 | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973–74 | Fourth Division | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| 1974–75 | Fourth Division | 42 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 8 | |
| 1975–76 | Fourth Division | 45 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 8 | |
| 1976–77 | Fourth Division | 46 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 16 | |
| 1977–78 | Fourth Division | 42 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 17 | |
| 1978–79 | Third Division | 43 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 21 | |
| 1979–80 | Second Division | 29 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 8 | |
| 1980–81 | Second Division | 35 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 8 | |
| 1981–82 | First Division | 42 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 14 | |
| 1982–83 | First Division | 40 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 9 | |
| Total | 393 | 102 | 21 | 5 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 445 | 113 | ||
| Stoke City | 1983–84 | First Division | 40 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 7 |
| 1984–85 | First Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 48 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 7 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1984–85 | First Division | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| 1985–86 | First Division | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
| 1986–87 | First Division | 39 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| Total | 87 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 6 | ||
| Leicester City | 1987–88 | Second Division | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| Total | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| Swansea City | 1987–88 | Fourth Division | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| 1988–89 | Third Division | 41 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 9 | |
| 1989–90 | Third Division | 30 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 5 | |
| Total | 90 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 108 | 17 | ||
| Bradford City | 1990–91 | Third Division | 46 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 5 |
| 1991–92 | Third Division | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 3 | |
| Total | 89 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 108 | 8 | ||
| Cardiff City | 1992–93 | Third Division | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 2 |
| 1993–94 | Second Division | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 1 | |
| Total | 51 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 62 | 3 | ||
| Merthyr Tydfil | 1993–94 | Football Conference | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| 1994–95 | Football Conference | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | ||
| Barry Town | 1994–95 | League of Wales | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| Llanelli | 1995–96 | League of Wales | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 |
| Career Total | 864 | 141 | 37 | 6 | 61 | 8 | 29 | 3 | 991 | 158 | ||
Source:[10]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 1978 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1983 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 46 | 7 | |
Swansea City
Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff City
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
