Jimmy Melia (soccer player, 1874)

Jimmy Melia
Personnel
Surname	James Melia
birthday	April 2, 1874
place of birth	Darlington ,  England
date of death	February 1905
Place of death	Darlington ,  England
position	Defense (left)
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
0000-1895	Darlington St Augustines
1895-1898	The Wednesday	7 (0)
1898-1901	Tottenham Hotspur	38 (1)
1901-1902	Preston North End	2 (0)
1 Only league games are given.

James "Jimmy" Melia (born April 2, 1874 in Darlington , † February 1905 ibid) was an English football player . The defender played from 1895 to 1902 for The Wednesday and Preston North End a total of nine games in the divisions of the Football League and was also active for three years for Tottenham Hotspur .

Career

Melia joined the Sheffield club The Wednesday in 1895 from Darlington St Augustines, a Northern League club . In his first season limited to appearances in the reserve team, Melia came in the following two seasons to a total of seven appearances in the First Division , but could not prevail against the regular left defender Jack Earp . In December 1896 he was part of a selection team from Sheffield against West Yorkshire and with the reserve team he won the championship of the United Counties League in 1898 ; before joining the Southern League playing London club Tottenham Hotspur in mid-1898 .

Melia played for the capital city club for three years and was regularly used in defense alongside Bob Cain - and later Sandy Tait . By the 1900/01 season at the latest, he had lost the fight for a regular place with his long-term rival Harry Erentz , so he had not been used in the sensational win of the FA Cup in 1901 against Sheffield United . In the 1899/1900 season, the first of the club at White Hart Lane , he had contributed to winning the Southern League championship with 14 appearances. In February 1900 he was part of a selection team of the Southern League, which competed in favor of the Transvaal War Fund against a southern English amateur selection and won 7-2. In total, Melia played 38 games for Tottenham in the Southern League, nine in the United League , four in the Western League , ten in the Thames and Medway League , six in the Southern District Combination and three games in the FA Cup . In addition, there are at least another 20 appearances in friendly matches, including in November 1899 against the South African tour team called " Kaffirs " (final score 6: 4, 1 goal by Melia) and against a Berlin selection (final score 9: 6) in January 1901.

In July 1901 Melia was hired by the first division relegated Preston North End and described in the press as an "excellent, strong, intelligent defender". With Melia still registered with Wednesday as a player in the Football League, Preston had to pay a £ 25 transfer fee to his former club. Melia was in the starting line-up against eventual champions West Bromwich Albion on matchday one , but after the 3-1 defeat, Johnny McMahon was preferred on the left defender (this should also have contributed to the fact that the following six games were won without conceding a goal) and Melia only played once during the rest of the season, the 2-0 draw against Chesterfield FC in October was also his last competitive appearance in professional football.

At the beginning of February 1905 a benefit game was played in Darlington in favor of the seriously ill Melia , only a few days later he died at the age of 30.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ only missions in the Southern League
2. ^ ^{A b c} Jason Dickinson, John Brodie: The Wednesday Boys: A Definitive Who's Who of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club 1880–2005 . Pickard Communication, Sheffield 2005, ISBN 978-0-9547264-9-2 , pp. 204 .
3. ↑ WEST YORKSHIRE v. SHEFFIELD ASSOCIATION. . In: Leeds Mercury , December 18, 1896, p. 7.  (paid link)
4. ↑ UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE. . In: Lichfield Mercury , April 13, 1898, p. 9.  (paid link)
5. ↑ SPORTING NOTES. . In: Nottingham Evening Post , July 25, 1901, p. 4.  (paid link)
6. ↑ SOUTHERN AMATEURS v. SOUTHERN LEAGUE. . In: Sporting Life , February 26, 1900, p. 4.  (link subject to charge)
7. ↑ FOOTBALL. . In: Isle of Wight Observer , February 24, 1900, p. 8.  (link with costs)
8. ↑ SOUTHERN AMATEURS v. SOUTHERN LEAGUE. . In: Irish Independent , February 27, 1900, p. 2.  (paid link)
9. ↑ Bob Goodwin: The Spurs Alphabet - A Complete Who's Who of Tottenham Hotspur FC ACL & Polar Publishing Ltd., Leicester 1992, ISBN 0-9514862-8-4 , p. 258 .
10. ^ Bob Goodwin: Tottenham Hotspur - The Complete Record . Breedon Books, Derby 2007, ISBN 978-1-85983-567-8 , pp. 545 ff .
11. ↑ ANOTHER PLAYER FOR THE NORTH END. . In: Lancashire Evening Post , July 24, 1901, p. 4.  (paid link)
12. ^ Mike Payne, Ian Rigby, Loud and Proud Preston: The Complete Story of the Lilywhites . Palatine Books, Lancaster 2005, ISBN 978-1-874181-31-6 , pp. 29 f .
13. ↑ DEATH OF AN EX-NORTH ENDER. . In: Lancashire Evening Post , February 9, 1905, p. 5.  (paid link)