Sam Irving

Sam Irving

Personal information
Full name	Samuel Johnstone Irving
Date of birth	(1893-08-28)28 August 1893
Place of birth	Belfast, Ireland
Date of death	12 December 1968(1968-12-12) (aged 75)
Place of death	Dundee, Scotland
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Right half/Inside right
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Shildon Athletic
	Galashiels United
	Esh Winning
1913–15	Bristol City	18	(4)
1915–19	Dundee
1919-–21	Blyth Spartans
1921–22	Shildon Athletic
1922–26	Dundee
1923–24	→ Partick Thistle (loan)
1925	→ New York Centrals (guest)
1926–28	Cardiff City	47	(3)
1928–32	Chelsea	89	(5)
1932–33	Bristol Rovers	21	(1)
International career
1923-31	Ireland	18	(0)
Managerial career
1938-39	Dundee United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Samuel Johnstone Irving (28 August 1893 - 12 December 1968) was an Irish footballer and manager. He played in The Football League for Bristol City, Cardiff City, Chelsea and Bristol Rovers, and for Dundee in the Scottish Football League. He won the FA Cup, Welsh Cup and Charity Shield with Cardiff in 1927. At international level, Irving made 18 appearances for Ireland. After retiring as a player, he was co-manager of Dundee United.

Career

Irving began his footballing career in the North-East of England, playing for a number of non-League clubs, and in 1911 having an unsuccessful trial with Newcastle United. Finally given his break in the Football League by Bristol City, for whom he signed in November 1913, he made eighteen appearances, mainly at inside-forward, before signing with Dundee in March 1915. After the First World War, Irving had spells back in the English North-East playing with Blyth Spartans, and one of his early clubs, Shildon Athletic , returning to Dundee in 1922.

During his time at Dens Park, Irving won a total of ten caps, including in the famous win over England in 1923, at right-half and left-half. A Scottish Cup runner-up in 1925 when Celtic defeated Dundee 2-1, in June 1926 Irving signed to Cardiff City in an exchange deal that took Joe Cassidy the other way. He made his Bluebirds' debut in a 1-1 draw at Leeds United early in the season. He remained a regular in the side throughout the campaign, initially at right-half, but later shifting to inside-right, where he played in the 1927 FA Cup Final victory over Arsenal, Cardiff taking the trophy outside England for the first time. He continued as a regular in the Irish half-back line throughout his time at Ninian Park, filling in as inside-left for a match against Scotland in 1927 and also captaining the side.

In March 1928 Irving joined Chelsea, serving as "a sharp-tackling fetch-and-carry" wing-half in their 1929-30 promotion campaign. While with Chelsea, Irving toured South America in 1929. The team were surprised by the unsporting behaviour of their opponents, and antics of the crowd who pelted them with oranges. Irving’s answer was to catch the food, peel it and eat it! It was while at Stamford Bridge that Irving brought his international career to a close, winning his final cap at the age of 38 in a 4-2 defeat by Wales. In May 1932 he returned to Bristol, this time signing for Rovers, retiring from playing a year later.

With his playing days behind him, Irving settled in Dundee where he ran a billiards hall. In 1938 he was involved in a takeover of Dundee United, taking control of the team as joint-manager/director with Jimmy Brownlie for the 1938-39 season. He stepped down from the manager's role after a year, but remained with the club as a director.

Honours

• Dundee
  • Scottish Cup runner-up: 1924–25
• Cardiff City
  • FA Cup: 1926–27
  • Welsh Cup: 1926–27
  • FA Charity Shield: 1927
• Chelsea
  • Football League Division Two runner-up: 1929–30

External links

• Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats profile