All at SAFC were very sad to hear of the passing of former player, Jim Kerray at aged 85 on the 6th November 2021.
Please find below a bio chronicling Jim’s football career written by is son, Mark:
“Born in The Raploch, Stirling, Jim’s earliest memories are of playing football on the large green outside his house. It was during these long, sometimes all-day games he learned skills that would serve him well in later life. Billy Bremner, born 1942, would later play on the same green and learn his craft there. Although very different personalities both seemed to learn a resilience and a hunger to win.
As it became time to leave school, Jim started to work as an apprentice painter and decorator and managed to combine this with playing football for Dunipace Juniors. Playing at Westfield Park in Denny, Jim started to show his talent and particularly his speed, quite a good place for him to be given the club were also known as The Pace. Later to be nicknamed the Flying Scotsman Jimmy also used to run 60 yard and 100 yard races at local galas and fares, often coming away with the prize money on offer.
It wasn’t until 1957 when Jimmy was 22 years old, that Raith Rovers came calling and offered him his first professional contract. This was the beginning of a professional football career that would last 12 years until his retirement from the professional game in 1969 at the age of 34. At Raith Rovers between 1957 and 1960 Jim, a contemporary of Jim Baxter, was recently honoured and remembered for being the scorer of two goals the last time Raith had a win over Glasgow Rangers. In 1960 Jim joined Dunfermline Athletic and played under Jock Stein, the manager he learned most from and would come to apply later in his own modest but successful coaching career. Jim’s performances attracted the attention of Huddersfield Town who was his next club between 1960 and 1962. Jimmy was a contemporary of Ray Wilson who went on to become a World Cup winner with England in 1966.
In 1961 in a win over Newcastle United Jim impressed so much by scoring in Town’s 2-1 win he secured a swap transfer with Len White to Newcastle United in the February of 1962. Jimmy enjoyed a short but successful career in Newcastle between 1962 and 1963 and is still remembered fondly for his goals in Tyneside / Wearside derbies particularly his performance in a 1 -1 draw in October 1962, when he scored Newcastle’s equaliser. Sunderland’s scorer that day was Brian Clough. In 1963 Jimmy headed back North of the border for a second spell at Dunfermline Athletic before playing out the latter half of his career at St Johnstone, Stirling Albion and Falkirk. It was in 1966 and while living in Bridge of Allan that Jim took part in a ground-breaking summer football tour of Athens, Tehran and Tokyo with Stirling Albion. Playing the Japanese national football team in the Tokyo Olympic stadium that had played host to the games two years earlier in 1964.
The draw of family took Jim back to Huddersfield in 1969/70 and he started a job working at ICI Paints Division in the transport department. Jim worked at ICI until his retirement over 20 years later. In his 30s Jim still played semi-professional football for Buxton Town and when he finally hung up his boots, became a coach for local football teams in various Yorkshire and Huddersfield district leagues. He started coaching at Ossett Town and went on to manage Lower Hopton, and Bracken Hall United.”
