James Williamson

Name: James Porter Williamson
Born: 8 December 1869, Armagh
Died:
Height:
Weight:
Position: Right-Half/Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 3 Full Caps / 1 Goal (1890-1893); Irish League: 1 Cap /1 Goal (1893).
Club Honours: (with Cliftonville) Irish Cup Winner 1887/88, Runner-Up 1889/90, 1892/93; Co. Antrim Shield Winner; Belfast Charity Cup Winner.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA.Cup	Other
Cliftonville	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£0		-	-	-

Biography:
Inititially a half-back, it was in that role that James Williamson played in Cliftonville's 1888 Irish Cup Final win over Distillery and won the first of his three caps for Ireland.

Later Williamson converted to centre-forward, scoring for Ireland as they ran Scotland close in a 3-2 defeat in 1892. The match-up between the "Shamrock and Thistle" at Cliftonville saw Williamson replace John Peden, who had been injured facing England two weeks earlier. When Dalton centred for Williamson to score from an "oblique angle" just prior to half-time, the Irish were already two goals down.

The Scots made it 3-1 mid-way through the second half in controversial circumstances, the ball entering the net despite seemingly going over the bar. Outraged, the Irish mounted a "fierce and continual fusillade on the Scottish citadel" through to the final whistle, with a single late strike by George Gaffikin proving scant reward.

Come the spring of 1893 Williamson played two more representative matches against Scotland. The International Championship match at Parkhead proved a disappointing occasion as the Scots cruised to an easy 6-1 win. An inter-league clash between the two countries, the Irish League's first representative match, proved much happier. The Irish won 3-0 at Ulsterville, with Williamson again among the scorers.

1893 also saw Williamson appear in his third Irish Cup Final for Cliftonville. The opposition were Linfield, who were 5-0 up by half-time, though by way of consolation Williamson scored the only goal of the second half.

Ireland Cap Details:
15-03-1890 England. H L 1-9 BC
19-03-1892 Scotland H L 2-3 BC 1 Goal
25-03-1893 Scotland A L 1-6 BC

Summary: 3/1. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 3.

With thanks to Chris Goodwin of England Football Online for Williamson's birth details.