Jimmy Guthrie

Who was Jimmy Guthrie?

Jimmy Guthrie was born James Wallace Taylor Guthrie in Luncarty, Perthshire, Scotland on June 6, 1912. He played for Luncarty City Boys, Perth Thistle F.C. and Scone Thistle before joining Dundee for the 1932/33 season. In August 1937 he was transferred to Portsmouth of the English First Division for a fee of £4,000.

He played 94 times for 'Pompey' most famously captaining the team to a 4-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1939 FA Cup Final. A car accident later in 1939 and the suspension of competitive football during the Second World War put an end to his playing career.

Throughout his career he was active in the Players' Union and he became the Union's fifth Chairman in August 1946 holding the position until 1957. He did much of the campaigning work that later saw the abolition of the maximum wage. His book 'Soccer Rebel', published in 1976, documents his time at the Players' Union and includes commentary about the subsequent work of the renamed Professional Footballers' Association and the state of the English game.

He died in hospital in London on September 10, 1981.