BONE, James
born. 22.09.1949, Bridge of Allan
Forward. Jimmy Bone was brought up in Fallin a small mining town near Stirling. He attended Stirling High School where the favoured game was Rugby, but Jimmy perfected his football skills with the local Boys Brigade and at 14 played for local miner’s welfare side. Upon leaving School he became an apprentice electrician and played for local sides Bannockburn Rovers and Airth Castle Rovers where senior scouts started taking notice of his goal scoring prowess and unsuccessful trials followed at 10 clubs including Stirling Albion, Falkirk, Hibernian and even Liverpool. At the age of 18 he had came to the attention of Thistle manger Willie Thornton who offered him his chance of senior football at Firhill. He made his debut a few weeks later scoring in a 3-3 draw in a pre-season friendly away to Bury. Season 1968-69 saw the Jags finish 14th in the top flight of Scottish football but for the young striker he managed 17 goals in 40 league and cup appearances with a hat-trick over Heart of Midlothian flung in for good measure. The following season saw the Jags relegated and defeated in the Glasgow Cup Final (which had been held over from the previous season), Jimmy managing a goal in a 3-2 defeat to Rangers. 1970-71 saw Jimmy’s former team mate Davie McParland replace Scott Symon as manager, and under McParland the young Jags team won the 2nd Division championship, Jimmy forming a deadly partnership with Frank Coulston. The following year the Jags were favourite for the drop, but dumbfounded the critics and columnists by finishing 7th and lifting the League Cup in some style, hammering a star studded Celtic side 4-1 at Hampden where Bone famously walked the ball into the net to make it 4-0 just before half-time. In January 1972 he was selected for the Scotland under 23 side at Pittodrie who disposed of the Welsh visitors 2-0 with the help of a goal from club mate Denis McQuade. The following month he was named in the Scotland under 23 team selected to face their English counterparts at Derby’s Baseball Ground. The game ended level at 2 all with Kenny Dalglish grabbing both Scotland’s goals, but Bone did enough to convince the watching Norwich City scout he was a worth £40,000 transfer. He joined the Carrow Road side at the end of February 1972 helping them win the 2nd Division. Scotland called again this time the senior side after only 4 months south of the border. He was included in the Scotland squad that travelled to Brazil for the unofficial world cup or the Brazilian Independence Cup alongside Thistle’s John Hansen; he made his debut in the 1st round replacing Dennis Law in the 76 minute of a 2-2 draw against Yugoslavia. His only other senior Scotland appearance would come in a world cup qualifier in the Idraetdparken Stadium, Copenhagen scoring on the way to a 4-1 Scotland victory, he then returned to the Scotland under 23 side scoring in a 2-1 defeat to England at Rugby Park in February 1973.Shortly after this he moved to Sheffield United in a player exchange transfer. After a year at Bramall Lane, Celtic came calling and he was on the move again, a bargain fee of £25,000 involved. Jimmy found it hard to settle at Celtic Park and after barely a year in which he made only 7 league appearances without finding the net he moved to fellow 1st division side Arbroath for a club record £12,000 transfer fee. He refound his form and the back of the net scoring over 50 goals for Arbroath in just over 100 games. In February 1978 Arbroath double their investment in Jimmy when he moved to St Mirren, the Premier league side paying £25,000 for the forward. In three season at St Mirren he helped the paisley buddies win the Anglo-Scottish Cup (beating Bristol City), and a third place finish in the league and he also scored the BBC Scotland’s Goal of the Season for season 1980-81. A spell playing for Hong Kong Rangers followed before he moved to newly promoted Heart of Midlothian. He helped Hearts maintain there premier league status, he also managed to score against Thistle in a midweek Scottish Cup tie at Tynecastle. In September 1983 Jimmy was one of the first players to earn the new SFA A coaching licence along with former Jag Donald Park and towards the end of season 1984-85 he took his first steps in management becoming player manager of 2nd Division Arbroath. He then managed the Red Litichies until 1986, with his last ever league appearance coming at Gay Field in 5-2 defeat to Ayr United on the 29th November 1986, over 18 years since his league debut for the Jags. He then moved to St Mirren as assistant manager to Alex Smith helping the Buddies lift the Scottish Cup in his first season this was followed by a coaching position at Dundee United before agreeing to manager 1st Division Airdrieonians in 1989. In three seasons at Broomfield the Diamonds finished 2nd in his first two seasons going one better the following season lifting the 1st Division championship. He was out of contract as the Diamonds prepared for life in the top flight, and after a dispute with the Airdrieonians board of directors he decided his future lay elsewhere. He then moved to Zambia’s Power Dynamos for a two year spell in Africa. He returned home to take the manager’s job at 1st Division St Mirren, the Saints where on a downward slide having been recently relegated for the Premier League and having lost most of there experienced 1st team squa
Jimmy Bone will always be remembered as an old fashioned robust centre forward, who walked the ball into the net for Thistle’s fourth goal in the League Cup Final. Jimmy also regularly appeared at Firhill taking part in testimonials and charity games, including the John Lambie testimonial in 2007 when Jimmy was 58. He put himself about like the 19 year old who played for the Jags in 1968.
His cousin George also played for Stenhousemuir, and his nephew Alex played under him at St Mirren, and later played for Stirling Albion, Ayr United and Peterhead.
· 1968-69 – Glasgow Cup Runner Up, Partick Thistle
· 1970-71 – 2nd Division Winner, Partick Thistle
· 1971-72 – League Cup Winner, Partick Thistle
· 26th January 1972 – Scotland Under 23 v Wales 2-0
· 16th February 1972 – Scotland Under 23 v England 2-2
· 29th June 1972 – Scotland v Yugoslavia 2-2
· 18th October 1972 – Scotland v Denmark 4-1
· 1980 Anglo Scottish Cup Winner, St Mirren
· 1980-81 BBC Scotland Goal of the Season Winner, St Mirren