News and Events | Jim Herriot (20 December 1939 - 23 April 2025)
Dunfermline goalkeeper in 1965 Scottish Cup finalists. Jim took over as the first choice `˜keeper at the start of 1962/63 and played in those most memorable European matches against Everton and Valencia
Everybody at Dunfermline Athletic was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former goalkeeper and Hall of Fame Pars legend, Jim Herriot on 23rd April 2025.
Given a small slice of good fortune, 1964/65 could easily have been the greatest season in Dunfermline Athletic`s history. With just three matches left to play, an unbelievable League and Scottish Cup double was within their grasp, only for them to falter at the most crucial stage. Even though the Pars finished with nothing to show for their endeavours, that particular Pars team will always be remembered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of all time. An integral part of that was goalkeeper Jim Herriot, who missed only one match out of the fifty-five first team games played that season.
Born in Chapelhall, Lanarkshire on 20 December 1939, Jim signed for the Pars from Douglasdale Juniors on 27 October 1958 for a fee of £80. Dunfermline`s regular keeper Bill Beaton had recently signed for Aston Villa, so the 18-year-old Herriot was brought in as a back-up for another young goalkeeper, Eddie Connachan. However, once Jock Stein became manager in March 1960, it didn`t take the new boss long to realise that he had two class goalkeepers on his books.
Herriot made his debut on 8 October 1960 in a 2-2 draw at home to Ayr United. Later that season Jim was given an extended run in the team and played in the first three games of the Pars` famous 1961 Scottish Cup run before Jock Stein decided to recall the more experienced Eddie Connachan. Jim was later to admit how jealous he had been given Connachan`s wonderful performance in that Scottish Cup Final, but he recognised how good Eddie was and went all out to emulate him from then on.
Jim took over as the first choice `˜keeper at the start of 1962/63 and played in those most memorable European matches against Everton and Valencia before suffering a broken thumb in a Scottish Cup-tie against Aberdeen. A broken thumb was no surprise for a goalkeeper who frequently showed great bravery. Herriot`s courage might best be summed up in an incident that took place during a league match against Dundee, who, at that time, were reigning league champions. Dunfermline took the lead but Jim was carried off on a stretcher just after the hour mark. With no substitutes permitted, midfielder George Miller performed heroics in goal to keep Dundee out while Herriot, desperate to help the Pars to a famous win, returned after thirteen minutes to play on the right wing and went close to scoring with a header! The Pars won 2-0. Herriot`s goalkeeping that season earned him international honours, in the form of two Scottish League caps.
Connachan, however, reclaimed his place in the Pars team again and it wasn`t until his transfer in August 1963 that Jim really established himself as the undisputed number one. Despite being involved in a serious car accident in November, Jim missed only a handful of matches as the Pars reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. A bad-tempered match with little good football resulted in a 1-0 win for Rangers, disappointing in itself but also the end of an era for Dunfermline. Two days later, after defeating Airdrie 5-1, Jock Stein was released from his contract to take over at Hibernian.
It was Jock Stein`s attention to detail that earned Jim his trademark `˜black eyes`. As he didn`t like wearing a cap, he was told to rub dirt on the skin under his eyes, as Stein believed that it would reflect strong light, particularly at grounds where the floodlights were along the roofs of the stand and enclosure. Stein leaving was undoubtedly a loss for Herriot, although, as Jim pointed out, his relationship with Stein did have its funny moments. Jim was a bit of a mimic and his impressions were well received by his team mates. One day he was doing an impression of Jock giving a tactics talk, which seemed to be going down particularly well till he turned round to find Jock standing right behind him!
The 1964/65 season proved to be a tale of what might have been for Dunfermline. In Europe, Jim was the hero of the Second Round tie against Stuttgart when he saved a controversial penalty in the dying minutes of the return leg in Germany. The award of the spot-kick saw a fight break out in which Jim was floored and, although groggy from the punch, he reacted instinctively to pull off a great save.
The next round saw a play-off needed to separate Dunfermline and Athletic Bilbao, with the Spaniards winning the coin-toss to take the third game back to their ground. Unbelievably, the same Swiss referee as in the Stuttgart match gave Bilbao a very dubious penalty to help them record a 2-1 victory. On the domestic front, a disastrous 1-1 draw against St. Johnstone at East End ended any chance of the title and a week later, at Hampden Park, Celtic twice came from a goal behind to win the Scottish Cup.
After seven years with the Pars, Jim felt that it was time for a change and on 18 May 1965 he joined Birmingham City for a fee of £18,000. He was a regular in the Birmingham side, and that brought him full international recognition, winning the first of eight Scotland caps in October 1968 in a 1-0 win over Denmark. By 1970 though, Jim was on the fringes of the first team at St Andrews, and following loan spells at Mansfield Town and briefly at Aston Villa, Jim decided to take a chance on football in South Africa, playing four games with Durban City in 1971.
Jim later acknowledged that his South African venture had been a mistake, but his next move certainly wasn`t. Jim signed for Eddie Turnbull`s Hibernian, and, alongside his old Pars teammate Alex Edwards, was part of one of the best Hibs team in years during which time he picked up winners medals in the Scottish League Cup and the Drybrough Cup twice.
After leaving Easter Road, Jim had spells with St. Mirren and Partick Thistle, before going on loan to Morton in 1975/76. However, that same season he made a surprise return to East End Park. Pars keeper that season, Graeme Barclay, was on loan from Celtic, but after getting injured in the final league match, he returned to Parkhead. Unfortunately, Dunfermline still needed to take part in the ill-fated Spring Cup at the end of the season. As a favour to his former team-mate Harry Melrose, Jim agreed to play in all of the Spring Cup matches. Jim`s final Pars appearance was on 17 April 1976, almost sixteen years after his Pars debut.
Jim made 151 appearances for Dunfermline amongst a total of around 450 over a very successful football career. In his Pars appearances, Jim made 45 shut-outs, which still stands as the third highest fever or the club after Hugh Whyte and Ian Westwater.
Despite all of this, his name is perhaps best remembered because it was the one used by author Alf Wight, who was looking for a pen name under which to write his tales of Yorkshire veterinary life. While watching `˜Match of the Day`, the vet heard the name James Herriot and chose it because he thought it sounded pleasant! His book All Creatures Great and Small was later to be adapted into a very successful TV series, and our footballing Jim Herriot used to have people in stitches when he told about how fans of the TV series were convinced that he was the vet!
Jim was inducted into the Dunfermline Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006, and in his later years despite struggling with ill health, Jim was a regular visitor to East End Park and was a very active and supportive member of the Pars Former Players Association. His immense contribution to Dunfermline Athletic`s successes in the 1960s will never be forgotten.
Related Stories
views: 239