Jimmy Croal

Jimmy Croal

Personal information
Full name	James Anderson Croal
Date of birth	(1885-07-27)27 July 1885
Place of birth	Hutchesontown, Scotland
Date of death
Place of death	Yeovil, England
Height
Position(s)	Inside left
Youth career
	Falkirk Juniors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1905–1910	Rangers	3	(0)
	→ Ayr Parkhouse (loan)
	→ Alloa Athletic (loan)
	→ Dunfermline Athletic (loan)
1910–1914	Falkirk	97	(31)
1914–1921	Chelsea	113	(22)
1919	→ Falkirk (guest)	10	(0)
	→ Dunfermline Athletic (guest)
1921–1923	Fulham	36	(6)
International career
1913–1914	Scotland	3	(0)
1913–1914	Scottish League XI	3	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Anderson "Jimmy" Croal (27 July 1885 – 16 September 1939) was a Scottish footballer and schoolmaster who played for Falkirk, Rangers and Chelsea. He was judged to be a clever inside left who when paired with Bob McNeil was very effective.

Career

Croal was a lively inside left, who joined Rangers in 1904 from junior football. However, he failed to make the breakthrough to the first team and went out on loan to Ayr Parkhouse, Alloa Athletic and Dunfermline Athletic before finally leaving Ibrox to sign for Falkirk in November 1910. The transfer fee was £10. At Brockville, his career blossomed, and he won the Scottish Cup in 1913, as well as three international caps and five appearances for the Scottish League XI. Croal transferred to Chelsea from Falkirk sometime in 1914. Chelsea paid £2,000 for him and he remained at Stamford Bridge until 1922. He was a member of the Chelsea side that reached the 1915 FA Cup Final. He made a total of 130 appearances for Chelsea, scoring a total of 26 goals. Croal then spent a season with Fulham before retiring. He was a schoolmaster by profession.

Honours

Falkirk

• Scottish Cup: Winner 1913

Chelsea

• FA Cup: Runners Up 1915