James Blessington

James Blessington
Personal information
Date of birth (1874-02-28)28 February 1874
Place of birth Linlithgow, Scotland
Date of death 18 April 1939(1939-04-18) (aged 65)
Place of death Newton Abbott, England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Inside right
Youth career
Harp Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1890–1892 Hibernian
1891–1892Leith Athletic (loan)  20 (8)
1892–1898 Celtic  83 (31)
1898Preston North End (loan)  
1898–1899 Preston North End  
1899 Derby County  2 (0)
1899–1900 Bristol City  
1900–1903 Luton Town  
1903–1909 Leicester Fosse  100 (18)
International career
1892–1898 Scottish League XI 6 (1)
1894–1896 Scotland 4 (0)
Managerial career
1907–1909 Leicester Fosse
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Blessington (28 February 1874 – 18 April 1939) was a Scottish football player (an inside right) and manager.

Playing career

Club

Born in Linlithgow, West Lothian, Blessington began his playing career with several Edinburgh sides, including Hibernian (then temporarily known as Leith Hibernians) and Leith Athletic, before moving to Glasgow to join Celtic in 1892. He spent six seasons at Celtic Park, earning three Scottish Football League titles (1892–93, 1893–94 and 1895–96).

He moved to England in 1898, spending short periods with Preston North End, Derby County, Bristol City followed by three years at Luton Town and his longest spell at Leicester Fosse between 1903 and 1909.

International

Blessington was capped four times by the Scotland national team between 1894 and 1896 during his time with Celtic. He also made six appearances for the Scottish League representative side, scoring one goal.

Managerial career and later life

Between 1907 and 1909 Blessington acted as player-manager of Leicester Fosse (though he played only very occasionally), becoming that club's first manager, and was in charge for a total of 84 games.

He then moved to Ireland, where he helped coach Belfast Celtic and also assisted the Irish Amateur Athletic Association as a handicapper. He later moved to Newton Abbot in Devon, where he ran a pub.



This page was last updated at 2023-11-14 02:13 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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