Jimmy Collins

We were sorry to hear of the passing of our former player Jimmy Collins who sadly died on Tuesday at the age of 80.

Jimmy, an inside-forward from Lorn in Ayrshire, attracted a great deal of attention as a youngster when he helped local junior side Lugar Boswell Thistle win the Scottish Youth Cup at a packed Hampden Park.

He joined us in June, 1956, and was a regular goalscorer in our Reserves when he stepped up for his first team debut in a friendly against an Army XI in October, 1960.

Jimmy was good enough to make two league appearances in Bill Nicholson’s high-flying side of season 1961/62 – at home to West Ham United in the August and West Bromwich Albion in April, on each occasion coming in for fellow Scot and team inspiration John White.

He was too good a player to stay in the Reserves but with competition for places so intense, Jimmy moved on to Brighton & Hove Albion in October, 1962, where he played regularly for the next five years and had a similar career span with Wimbledon in their non-league days. He was still playing football well into his fifties.

Jimmy Collins passed away in Shoreham on 24 July, 2018. He is survived by his wife Wendy and daughters Georgina and Jodi. We extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends at this sad time.