Jim Irvine

Who is Jim Irvine?

James Irvine is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward.

Irvine was raised in West Lothian, where he attended St Mary's School in Bathgate. He showed early footballing promise and was capped by Scotland at Schoolboy level. He started his senior football career with Dundee United, then in the Second Division, initially on a part-time basis as he completed a motor mechanic apprenticeship. Under the stewardship of Jerry Kerr United gained promotion and Irvine's striking partnership with Denis Gillespie provided more than 150 goals as they consolidated a position in the Scottish top flight over the following seasons. In 1961 his goalscoring attracted the attention of Bill Shankly who was desperate to sign a striker but injury at acrucial time put paid to any transfer and Shankly instead bought Ian St John from Motherwell.

However at the end of the 1963-64 season, Middlesbrough manager Raich Carter bid £25,000 for Irvine's services and he moved to Teesside. Boro were a mid-table Division Two at the time but despite Irvine becoming a regular goalscorer, they slumped to relegation in 1965-66. An instant return to Division Two was secured the following season, although QPR won the league title.