James Dunn

Died: 31 December, 2014, aged 91

JIMMY Dunn, who died, aged 91 on Hogmanay, is one of those relatively unsung Scottish footballers who were the backbone of the English game during its golden post-World War II era.

His Scouse accent, a relic of his upbringing in Liverpool hid the fact he was not only Scottish, but Scottish football "royalty". Jimmy's father, Jimmy Dunn Senior, was the inside right in the most-lauded of Scottish teams, the "Wembley Wizards" who crushed England 5-1 at Wembley on 31 March, 1928.

Jimmy Senior's performance in that iconic match won him a transfer from Hibs to Everton, so Jimmy Junior switched Edinburgh for Merseyside, as his father became an Everton great, by playing in the Toffees side which beat Manchester City, whose team included the future Sir Matt Busby and Dunn Senior's Wizards skipper Jimmy McMullan, in the 1933 FA Cup Final. Everton won the match 3-0, with Dunn Senior scoring the third goal, ten minutes from time.

Jimmy Junior signed for Wolves from Liverpool junior side St Theresa's as a 17-year-old in 1941. During the war he worked as a railway fireman, but, he still clocked-up over 100 appearances in the famous old gold and black kit in unofficial war-time matches,;including, on one occasion, running from Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground to Villa Park, after a war-time league game was the subject of a last-minute venue switch, and Dunn, straight off a shift on the foot plate had turned-up at the wrong ground.

He made his official senior debut in November, 1946 against Middlesbrough. This was the first of a mere three appearances that season, the other two coming at the end of the season. The second of these late call-ups was in the final game of the campaign, one of the greatest matches in Wolves' history.

Skipper Stan Cullis had already announced it would be his final game, while everyone in Wolverhampton knew, their heroes needed to merely draw with Liverpool, to win the League Championship. Sadly for Dunn, his team-mates and the 50,000 Wolves fans inside Molyneux, Liverpool won 2-1 to pip Wolves and Manchester United to the title by a single point, after Dunn's goal, his first in the League, had put Wolves 1-0 up.

The following campaign saw him become a Wolves regular as the club finished fifth in the league, and in the next seasoin, he never missed a cup-tie in the club's run to the 1949 FA Cup Final, in which they beat Leicester City 3-1. Dunn, who played inside-left that day, was the only Scot in the side, with 11 English-born players. By collecting his cup-winner's medal, he joined his father as the only father and son to both be FA Cup-winners.

These were heady days for Wolves, who were amongst the leading sides in England. The club finished second to Portsmouth in season 1949-50, but, a bad back injury meant Dunn played little football that season. He battled back to regain his place, then, in November, 1952, he was transferred to Derby County for £15,000.

The Rams were on a downward spiral at that time and, in 1955, he closed the book on his Football League career after, if you count his century of war-time games, some 300 appearances, to join non-league Worcester City. Then, as his father had done before him, he wound down his playing career with Runcorn.

He was, perhaps, not as talented as his illustrious father, but, he was still a fine old-fashioned inside forward. Maybe his accent, more Scotland Road than Scotland, told against him, although, given that Billy Steel had a firm hold on the number ten jersey in the Scotland side, Dunn was just one of many good players who didn't win Scottish caps at the time.

In retirtement from playing he initially followed the well-trodden ex-player's path into running a pub, in Penn in the West Midlands. However, life behind the bar didn't staisfy him, so, he returned to football, with Wolves' great West Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion, as first-team trainer.

At the Hawthorns he would enjoy a second Wembley cup-win, he was on the bench as West Brom beat his father's old Everton side 1-0 in the 1968 FA Cup Final.

Jimmy left West Brom in 1971 to run the Edgebaston Health Club, next door to the Warwickshire cricket ground, where he occasionally found himself treating injuries to England Test cricketers.

Although his "glass" knees were a relic of his playing career, Jimmy remained active, continuing to play tennis well into his seventies. He was also a keen golfer and a keen punter at horse races, before his final years were, like those of so-many of his contemporaries, blighted by Alzheimer's.

Jimmy's final months were spent in a nursing home in Bilston, Staffordshire, where he was re-united with an old Wolves team-mate, the legendary England goalkeeper Bert Williams, also a resident there, and the former team mates spent their final days enjoying each other's company, before Williams' death earlier in 2014.

Jimmy was pre-deceased in 2007 by Muriel, his wife of over 60-years. He is survived by his sons Philip and Peter, grand-son Simon and great-grand-son Milo.

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