Jimmy Forrest (footballer)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Henry Forrest | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1864 | ||
| Place of birth | Blackburn, England | ||
| Date of death | 30 December 1925 (aged 61) | ||
| Playing position | Half-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Imperial United | |||
| Witton | |||
| King's Own Blackburn | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1883–1895 | Blackburn Rovers | 148 | (2) |
| 1895–1896 | Darwen | 10 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1884–1890 | England | 11 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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James Henry Forrest (24 June 1864 – 30 December 1925) was an English footballer whose career spanned the transition from amateurism to professionalism in English football in the 1880s and 1890s. He played most of his club career for Blackburn Rovers, whose early embracing of professionalism enabled them to become one of the major teams in English football, and with whom he appeared on the winning side in five FA Cup finals (a joint record). He was the first professional player to appear for England for whom he made eleven appearances, as a half-back.
Forrest was born in Blackburn and began playing football at school. By the time he was twelve, he was captain of local side Imperial United. He was first spotted by Blackburn Rovers when playing for Witton in 1880. By now he had left school and was working as a tape sizer in the cotton trade. After moving on to play for King's Own Blackburn, he was eventually persuaded to join Rovers in January 1883.
At this time there was no organised league system, and Blackburn were restricted to friendly matches and cup tournaments, especially the Lancashire Senior Cup and the FA Cup, in which they had been finalists in 1882.
In his first season with Rovers, they reached the FA cup final with easy victories in the early rounds over Southport Central (7–0), South Shore (7–0), Padiham (3–0) and Staveley (5–1), before meeting Upton Park in the fifth round. This match was won 3–0 and was followed by a 1–0 semi-final victory over Notts County, thus setting up a final appearance against Scottish club Queen's Park, who had defeated Rovers' local rivals, and cup holders, Blackburn Olympic in the semi-final.
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