James Cochrane (born 26 October 1935) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Birmingham City and Walsall.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Cochrane | ||
| Date of birth | 26 October 1935 | ||
| Place of birth | Kingswinford, England | ||
| Position(s) | Inside right | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Brierley Hill Schools | |||
| 1951–1952 | Birmingham City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1952–1958 | Birmingham City | 3 | (1) |
| 1958–1959 | Walsall | 6 | (1) |
| 1959 | Wellington Town | ||
| 1959–19?? | Stourbridge | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Cochrane was born in Kingswinford, which was then in Staffordshire,[1] and attended Brierley Hill Secondary School.[2] He made his name in schools football, as inside right and playmaker in the Brierley Hill, Sedgley & District Schools team that reached the final of the English Schools' Football Association Trophy in 1951.[2][3] Cochrane, together with his schools' team captain and future England international Trevor Smith,[4] joined Birmingham City in the summer of 1951, and signed professional forms when he turned 17.[3]
He made his first-team debut on 7 March 1953, aged 17 years 4 months, in the Second Division match at Huddersfield Town which finished 1–1, and kept his place for the next game.[5] On his next appearance, a year later, standing in for Wales international Noel Kinsey, Cochrane scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win home win against West Ham United.[6] His progress was interrupted by his National Service commitment; after two years spent as a cook, he returned to the club overweight and unfit, and never played for the first team again.[3]
In June 1958 Cochrane joined Fourth Division club Walsall as part of Brian Taylor's transfer to Birmingham. He scored once in six league games before dropping into non-league football at the end of the 1958–59 season with Wellington Town and then Stourbridge. He was still only 23.[3][7]
References
edit- ^ a b "Jimmy Cochrane". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
- ^ a b "The year Brierley Hill Boys just missed out on football glory". Black Country Bugle. 28 October 2004. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
Includes a lengthy extract from the match programme of the E.S.F.A. Trophy Final second leg, 23 May 1951. - ^ a b c d Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- ^ Matthews, p. 125.
- ^ Matthews, p. 188.
- ^ Matthews, p. 189.
- ^ Edwards, Leigh. "Ultimate Saddlers A-Z 4". Walsall F.C. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2009.