James Blessington
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 28 February 1874 | ||
Place of birth | Linlithgow, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 18 April 1939 | (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 | ||
1891–1892 | → Leith Athletic (loan) | 20 | (8) |
1892–1898 | Celtic | 83 | (31) |
1898 | → Preston 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.
- 1874 births
- 1939 deaths
- Scottish men's footballers
- Scotland men's international footballers
- Hibernian F.C. players
- Celtic F.C. players
- Preston North End F.C. players
- Derby County F.C. players
- Bristol City F.C. players
- Luton Town F.C. players
- Leicester City F.C. players
- Scottish football managers
- Leicester City F.C. managers
- Sportspeople from Linlithgow
- English Football League managers
- English Football League players
- Southern Football League players
- Scottish Football League players
- Scottish Football League representative players
- Leith Athletic F.C. players
- Footballers from West Lothian
- Men's association football inside forwards
- Men's association football player-managers
- British Merchant Service personnel of World War I
- Association football coaches
- Publicans
- Scottish football forward, 1870s birth stubs