Freeborough: James (Jimmy)

1906-1908 (Leeds City Player Details)

Right Back

Born: Stockport: 13-02-1879

Debut: v Manchester United (a): 21-04-1906

6’0” 12st 7lb (1906)

Freeborough, a powerful six footer who proved a robust and solid defender, figuring at centre-half, left-half and both full-back positions. He started with Heaton Norris White Star before moving to his home-town team Second Division Stockport County at the start of the 1902/03 season. He soon made his debut in a 1-2 defeat at Barnsley in an English Second Division on 6th September 1902. He made Fourteen League appearances in the League and one in the F.A. Cup in the 1902-03 season, followed by twelve League and three F. A. Cup in his final season, a total of thirty for them before they dropped out of the Football League, after finishing in the pen-ultimate position at the end of the 1903-04 season. He moved to the Southern League with Tottenham Hotspur in 1904. He spent most of his time in their reserve team. His debut, at Half-Back in Reserve level in the Western League, came in a 2-0 win at home to Plymouth Argyle on 21st November 1904. His Southern League debut in a 1-0 away win at Wellingboroughon 15th April 1905, saw him play just the one Southern League game to go with six in the Western League for his 1904-05 season games. He was only able to add one further Southern League appearance in the next season on a 0-1 defeat at Portsmouth on 16th April 1906, his final game for Tottenham, but while he duplicated his previous year's appearances in the Western League, he also registered his first goal for the club in the Western League in a 2-3 home defeat by Brentford on 13th November 1905 from Left Half. His future at White Hart Lane did not look to be rosey and he jumped at the chance to join Second Division Leeds City in April 1906. He went straight into the first team, playing Left Half on debut but switching to Centre Half for the final game of the season at Glossop. Jimmy was a tall, solid defender who went straight into the City team against Manchester United in April 1906 in the left half position but it was not a happy debut as City went down 1-3 at Elland Road. The Leeds Mercury reported on his debut against Manchester United on 21st April 1906 as follows: "Leeds were a long way below their class, and, on Saturday's showing, neither Whitley nor Freeborough, the most recent importations, is a heaven born genius." His second game saw City finish in a handy sixth place with a 2-1 win at Glossop. His first full season saw him at Centre Half for the third and fourth games of the season, but he was then out of favour until he had a run of seven games at his favoured Right Back position starting in December. After missing five fixtures he was back once more at right back for the remaining eleven games of the season to take his tally to twenty for the season. It was widely acknowledged that he was better at full-back than he had been in the half-back line, though he was still inclined to be a little erratic. Freeborough was City's nominated penalty taker for a while, though he missed his only spot kick, at Blackpool on 5th December, sending the ball wildly over the bar. It was a crucial miss, for City consequently lost 1-0. In the 1-0 defeat at Gainsborough on 8 December, Freeborough went in goal for a while when Harry Bromage was temporarily indisposed. He found himself once more out of favour in the 1907-08 season and only had one game at Left Back in October and then had to wait until the last game of the season before getting his final game for the club at Right Back. After Twenty-four first team games for the Peacocks, he joined Bradford Park Avenue, who were managed by former Leeds City secretary-manager Gilbert Gillies and had been newly promoted to the Second Division, in July 1908. He made ten League appearances at Park Avenue and later played for Non-League clubs Rochdale and Denton. He returned to play for his native Stockport County in the War years, playing just once, on 12th October 1918 in a 1-4 defeat away defeat at Rochdale in the Lancashire section of the War-time League. Freeborough died in first quarter of 1961.