Robbie James
Bust of James outside the Liberty Stadium, Swansea.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Mark James | ||
| Date of birth | 23 March 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales | ||
| Date of death | 18 February 1998 (aged 40) | ||
| Place of death | Llanelli, Wales | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1983 | Swansea City | 393 | (102) |
| 1983–1984 | Stoke City | 48 | (6) |
| 1984–1987 | Queens Park Rangers | 87 | (5) |
| 1987–1988 | Leicester City | 23 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Swansea City | 90 | (16) |
| 1990–1992 | Bradford City | 89 | (6) |
| 1992–1993 | Cardiff City | 51 | (2) |
| 1993–1994 | Merthyr Tydfil | ||
| 1994–1995 | Barry Town | ||
| 1996–1998 | Llanelli | ||
| Total | 781 | (137) | |
| National team | |||
| 1978–1988 | Wales | 47 | (7) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1993–199? | Merthyr Tydfil | ||
| 199?–1998 | Llanelli | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Robert Mark "Robbie" James (23 March 1957 – 18 February 1998) was a Welsh international footballer who played for many teams including Swansea City, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers. He represented his country on 47 occasions over a period of ten years, scoring a total of seven goals.
He was a talented utility player who contributed greatly to Swansea City's rise from the Fourth Division to the First Division between 1978 and 1981, and helped them finish sixth in their first top division campaign. He played a total of 783 English league games between 1973 and 1994, scoring 134 goals. His league appearance tally is one of the highest of any player in the history of English football.
James was born in Gorseinon and began his career with local side Swansea City. He made his debut at the end of the 1972–73 season which ended with Swansea being relegated to the Fourth Division. They slowly recovered and James 16 goals in 1976–77 and 17 in 1977–78 helping the Swans gain promotion back to the Football League Third Division. He then scored a career best of 21 in 1978–79 as Swansea gained back to back promotions. After two seasons in the Second Division they completed a remarkable rise gaining promotion to the First Division for the first time in the club's history. James took to the top flight well scoring 14 goals in 46 appearances as Swansea finished in sixth position. However the following season saw Swansea relegated back to the Second Division and James joined Stoke City.
He played in 46 matches for Stoke in 1983–84 scoring seven goals but with the team struggling in 1984–85 he was sold to Queens Park Rangers £100,000. He spent three seasons at Loftus Road, helping the Hoops preserve their First Division status and reach the 1986 Football League Cup Final, where they were beaten 3–0 by Oxford United. At the end of the 1986–87 season, he joined Leicester City who had just been relegated to the Second Division.
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