Leighton James facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leighton James | ||
| Date of birth | 16 February 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Loughor, Swansea, Wales | ||
| Date of death | 19 April 2024 (aged 71) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1970–1975 | Burnley | 180 | (45) |
| 1975–1977 | Derby County | 68 | (15) |
| 1977–1978 | Queens Park Rangers | 28 | (4) |
| 1978–1980 | Burnley | 76 | (9) |
| 1980–1983 | Swansea City | 88 | (27) |
| 1983–1984 | Sunderland | 52 | (4) |
| 1984–1985 | Bury | 46 | (5) |
| 1985–1986 | Newport County | 28 | (2) |
| 1986–1989 | Burnley | 79 | (13) |
| Total | 645 | (124) | |
| National team | |||
| 1971–1983 | Wales | 54 | (10) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1993–1994 | Gainsborough Trinity | ||
| 1994 | Morecambe | ||
| 1994–1995 | Netherfield | ||
| 1995–1996 | Ilkeston Town | ||
| 1997–1998 | Accrington Stanley | ||
| 1998–2000 | Llanelli | ||
| 2001–2002 | Garden Village | ||
| 2002–2003 | Llanelli | ||
| 2009–2010 | Aberaman Athletic | ||
| 2011–2012 | Haverfordwest County | ||
|
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Leighton James ( February 16, 1953 – April 19, 2024) was a Welsh international footballer.
Playing career
James started his career as a left winger with Burnley, making his league debut in November 1970 against Nottingham Forest.
In 1971, he won his first international cap against Czechoslovakia. Altogether, he played 54 times for Wales and scored 10 goals.
In 1975, he signed for Derby County for a then club record fee of £310,000, and in 1977 joined Queens Park Rangers in exchange for Don Masson. He made his QPR debut against WBA in October 1977 and went on to play 28 league games, scoring 4 goals.
In 1978, he returned to play with Burnley but left when they were relegated to the third division and signed for Swansea City, helping them from the third division to the first. He had spells with Sunderland, Bury and Newport County before in 1986 he returned to Burnley for a third spell, as youth team manager and occasional player. He retired from playing in 1989 after being sacked as youth team manager.
Managerial career
James became a coach at Bradford City before succeeding Gary Simpson as manager of Gainsborough Trinity in October 1993. He was the manager at Morecambe but was sacked after only 5 months in charge. In October 1995 he was appointed manager of Southern League Premier Division side Ilkeston Town. After winning his first three matches in charge, the team then went 20 games without a victory and James left the club in February 1996 to be replaced by Keith Alexander. On 29 September 1997, James took over from Tony Greenwood as manager of Accrington Stanley. He spent five months in charge at the Crown Ground before resigning in February 1998 due to other work commitments.
James also had two spells in charge of League of Wales club Llanelli, who he saw relegated in 2002–03. In 2001–02 he coached Garden Village of the Welsh Football League to the Second Division championship title with a final day victory at Chepstow Town.
He worked as a football pundit for BBC radio and television along with a regular programme on Real Radio. The BBC suspended James for a period due to controversial remarks made in a regular newspaper column regarding Cardiff City.
In December 2009, James was appointed manager of Welsh Football League Division One side Aberaman Athletic.
He was appointed as Director of Football at Welsh Football League Division One side Haverfordwest County in 2011 but resigned after less than 2 months.
Personal life
Away from football, in June 2007 James was named Rookie Lollipop Man of the Year by Swansea Councilfor Penyrheol Primary School, which his nephew Thomas James went to.
James was also a rugby fan, and often comments on rugby on the Real Radio sports phone in. He was an avid supporter of Scarlets. James was also a cricketer, and was described as an extremely competent batsman.
James died on 19 April 2024 at 71.
