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The true story of Jimmy Love, the very first 'Scotch professor'

21/3/2020

33 Comments

 
If you have watched the Netflix series The English Game, you will know all the main characters. Arthur Kinnaird and Fergie Suter are celebrated for their football exploits and are both famous enough to have entries in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
   But what about Jimmy Love, Suter's partner who came with him from Partick to Darwen? Love is a crucial figure in football history, yet so little is known about him that he doesn't even have a Wikipedia page.
   This is the sad story of Jimmy Love's short and memorable life.
Picture
In the spring of 1883, a package arrived at the Love family home in Glasgow, addressed to Mr James Love. It contained the campaign medal - just like the one pictured above - awarded posthumously to his son Jimmy, a Corporal with the Royal Marine Light Infantry, who had died aged 24 of enteric fever while on active service in far away Egypt.
   Jimmy Love never won any medals during his lifetime, but he did earn many plaudits for his achievements as a footballer. Just a few years earlier he was Darwen's top scorer in their epic FA Cup run that pitched them against the mighty Old Etonians. 
   He was born in 1858 on the south side of Glasgow to James and Janet Love. His mother died when he was five, and his father remarried soon after. The family moved to Greenock, where his father was a coal merchant and general contractor, then about 1876 they settled in Partick, a Glasgow suburb.
   Jimmy set up his own business in Partick as a street cleaning contractor, and at the same time started playing in the forward line of the local football team. However, his business was not a success and in 1878 he found himself in deep financial trouble. One of his creditors petitioned for sequestration of his assets, a forced sale of his equipment was ordered, and on 28 October he was summoned to the Sheriff Court to face bankruptcy procedures. However, he didn't turn up and the proceedings were adjourned for a month. When he failed again to appear on 21 November, Sheriff Walter Spens issued a warrant for his arrest.    
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The warrant was never served as Love had run away from his debts. He had found a new home in the Lancashire town of Darwen, not an obvious choice but an escape route which was open to him thanks to his skills as a footballer. Jimmy had friends there, having visited the town with Partick at New Year 1878.
   Going straight into the Darwen team in October 1878, he formed a right wing partnership with Tommy Marshall and soon there was a steady diet of goals, cup ties and an admiring public. He scored twice against Eagley in the FA Cup second round, by which time Fergie Suter had also arrived in town, got two more in the third round victory over Remnants at the Oval, and was in top form when Darwen faced Old Etonians in the famous 5-5 draw on 13 February 1879. With Darwen 5-1 down at half-time, the comeback was well and truly kick-started by Jimmy Love, who scored twice in the second half.
   He was an integral part of the team, but it was not to last. Early the next season he played three times for Darwen, but after the defeat of Haslingden in the Lancashire Cup on 25 October, he disappeared from the team. 
   He cropped up once the following month in a friendly for local rivals Blackburn Rovers, when 'Jimmy Love of the Darwen club assisted Rovers on the right wing'. Then nothing more until what appears to be his last football match, on 10 January 1880 for village side Haslingden.
   What went wrong in Darwen may never be known, although perhaps his past was catching up with him. He had an income from the football club, which even played a benefit match for Love and Suter in April 1879, and he may also have done some odd jobs, but without those he was lost. Unlike the man portrayed in the Netflix series, he was not married. What is more, h
e could not go home because of the arrest warrant hanging over him.
   He took perhaps the only escape open to a fit young man: he joined the army. 
To be precise, he signed up with the Royal Marines in Liverpool on 24 February 1880 and I found his attestation papers at the National Archives.   ​
Picture
Picture
Jimmy Love's attestation papers for the Royal Marines
They describe him as from Govan (Partick was in Govan parish), 5 feet 6 ½ inches tall, with a dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair, giving his trade as a painter. His age is wrong, but that is nothing unusual in attestation papers.
   By the 1881 census he is at Chatham Barracks, having been promoted to Corporal. Then in the summer of 1882 the Marines were called into action and embarked for Egypt, where the British were putting down a nationalist uprising. Ahmed Urabi's forces had occupied Alexandria but after a defiant stand-off they were forced out by a two-day naval bombardment of the city. Love would have taken part in the subsequent occupation of Alexandria by the Royal Marines, and perhaps some of the fighting thereafter. 
Picture
Royal Marine infantry pictured (left) in Alexandria, Egypt. Jimmy Love would have worn this uniform before his death.
But then he fell ill with enteric fever and, sadly, died aged just 24 in the military hospital in Ismailia. Corporal Love was buried in Tel-el-Kebir cemetery, where there is a stone memorial, and is also commemorated on a Royal Marine memorial in Rochester Cathedral.
   Outside his family, his death was barely noticed. There were no obituaries, no tributes in the sporting press, and I've been unable to track down even a photo of him despite contacting several branches of his family.
   Thanks to The English Game, the legacy of Jimmy Love can now be truly appreciated. He was a football pioneer, and although Fergie Suter is often described as the 'first professional', we should acknowledge that Jimmy was there first.
Picture
The medal roll for the Royal Marine Battalion, which records Jimmy Love's posthumous Egypt campaign medal
James Love 
Born 17 March 1858 at Gushetfaulds Cottage, Glasgow.
Died 27 September 1882 at Ismailia, Egypt.



To read more about the connections between Partick and Darwen, read my earlier blog, From Partick with Love. 
33 Comments
Lynn Hines
29/3/2020 09:15:14 pm

Loved this piece on Jimmy Love, possibly a better story than the English Game on Netflix. Thanks

Reply
Winona
25/4/2020 08:40:54 pm

I totally agree. Wonderful to recognize Jimmy Love correctly...

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Cesar
30/3/2020 01:07:51 am

Great entry! After finishing 'The English Game' I spent this weekend looking for and learning about the true facts. Glad to know something about Jimmy Love. Greetings from Argentina!

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Colin
30/3/2020 03:18:58 pm

Excellent effort.
Great to see that he set the standards for future Royal Marines, a proper rogue !

Reply
Carlos Martinelli
6/4/2020 03:11:21 pm

Fantastic report. I am sure it will be appreciated by many footballs fans. A great tribute to such important person. Greatings from Brazil and Italy

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Ian Mulholland
8/4/2020 11:28:58 pm

Great research a cracking piece of sporting history.
Royal Marines Football Secretary

Reply
Calum
10/4/2020 02:17:48 am

Thanks for this! I too have just finished the series and was eager to know more about the true story.

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Julie
10/4/2020 03:32:32 pm

Thank you much, I'm currently watching The English Game, and keep stop, starting it to Google the players...

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Roee
17/4/2020 11:37:29 pm

Thx for the info.

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Kim N.
22/4/2020 08:51:22 pm

The great thing about these programs on Netflix is that they are so engaging that you want to look up the real people from the stories. It's great fun to compare the true story against the fictionalized one. Thank you for doing this research on Jimmy Love and sharing it with us!

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Guiajeff
23/4/2020 08:32:03 am

Excelente la serie y lo real
Saludos desde Buenos Aires

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Willeen
25/4/2020 04:43:47 am

I am enjoying ‘The English Game’ on Netflix. However I was disappointed to find out that the facts are dismissed in favour of fiction. I prefer the true story, warts and all. I don’t want a ‘ fake’ version.

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NYGiant
2/5/2020 02:50:49 am

Thank you for this information.Jimmy Love is one of the engaging players, in the English Game.

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Robin
3/5/2020 10:08:38 am

The English Game is the best thing I've seen on Netflix, Brilliant story. Thanks for the info!!

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Jason
7/5/2020 10:58:23 am

I thoroughly enjoyed The English Game and even though there were liberties taken with the true story, it was a great watch. I knew nothing of these people and yet I feel now I want to know more.

This was fantastic to read, as like many it seems, I was Googling players to find out more. I too was disappointed Jimmy didn't have a Wikipedia page. Perhaps the author of this article could start one with the information they have laid out here.

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Cindy
13/5/2020 04:18:07 am

I became very intrigued with the movie and am glad to find this history.

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Steve
17/5/2020 10:25:15 pm

Seems to me James ( Jimmy ) Love was the first professional footballer

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Luigi
29/5/2020 10:52:05 pm

Wonderful history (and job reporting it). Even better than the one in the movie. I do not understand why Netflix did not decide to stick closer to reality.
Thanks from Italy

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David Collins
29/5/2020 11:05:34 pm

Great show

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Daf
21/6/2020 12:01:53 am

Finished The English Game in Netflix and loved it.
Born in Scotland myself, my family moved to Wales then I moved to Haslingden Lancashire on my own due to work. Love the Game of Football. Played for a few Pubs around Accrington ( Queens east Gate ). Blackburn ( Georges )and Waterfoot. ( Bluebell )
The above is a cracking Tribute to Jimmy Love!

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Justin
21/6/2020 03:02:23 am

Thank you for your efforts in sharing this.
Often in television, you see the bad of a person. So glad they could pay tribute to a pioneer.

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Dave Collins
22/6/2020 01:29:46 am

Watching it a 2nd time

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David - Portugal
24/6/2020 06:05:02 pm

Thank you so much for this information!
Well written and very informative, this is a great research and it's an amazing way to know more about this individuals.
Thank you!
I too support the idea of having a Wikipedia page for Jimmy Love, you should totally do it!

Reply
Melanie Canada
3/7/2020 05:49:38 am

My dad was a referee and linesman in UK then Canada until just before his death in 1999. I have really enjoyed The English Game and I know my dad would have too. Well done in setting out to publish this history.

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sertac
15/7/2020 12:58:42 pm

Thank you for your article. And thanks to English people to bring us this beautiful game.
Greetings from Turkey.

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sertac
15/7/2020 01:00:27 pm

Thank you for your article. And thanks to British people to bring us this beautiful game.
Greetings from Turkey.

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John Dack
26/8/2020 11:28:54 pm

Great piece, well presented & enjoyable to read. Well done.

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Carolyn
17/10/2020 10:40:21 am

Great research and report. Thank you for such an enjoyable read.

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Jacquelyn link
16/1/2021 01:02:40 am

A truly informative account after watching the English game. I had a real thirst to learn more about the main characters. I’m not a great football fan. But social history is my thing and I’ve not been disappointed.

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teenajaay
9/2/2021 02:42:04 pm

Greetings from Australia! After watching the Netflix series I was hungry for more! Thank you for this informative article. It’s sad he died so young.. but now the world would know more about this fascinating young man- Jimmy Love. Thank you

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Mark Kendall
30/6/2021 02:45:31 pm

Incredible to watch the dual between the cultured southern sides of wealth and the raw talent from t’north. Never appreciated that Darwin was once so famous. No surprise the film is a social document of history. A real pity that Kevin Guthrie seems to have fallen foul of the law just prior to the film’s public release.

Reply
Michael
28/1/2022 01:48:27 am

Just leaving a comment to show my appreciation for this article and my respect for the research put into it.

Like many others, I too just finished binging the Netflix show and went online to know more because my curiousity was aroused. So, although not being historically accurate in regards to both Love and Suter, the show does force those interested into researching the facts on their own. Loved it, loved it all, TV series and online research. Great job!

Many thanks from Denmark.

Reply
Mary J Love
19/6/2022 04:37:46 am

I'm wondering if he was a distant relative.

Reply

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    All blog posts, unless stated, are written by Andy Mitchell, who is researching Scottish sport on a regular basis.