| James Sommen |
 James Lynch Sommen was born on Sunday, 17th April, 1881, in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire. The forward signed for George Easton's Thistle on Saturday, 10th September, 1904, having most recently been with Motherwell. Aged 23, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 17th September, 1904, in a 3-1 win at home to Morton in the SFL First Division. James scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 19th November, 1904, in a 4-1 win away to Queen's Park in the SFL First Division. He scored the last of his 13 goals on Saturday, 5th January, 1907, in a 3-0 win at home to Kilmarnock in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 27th April, 1907, in a 5-1 defeat away to Heart of Midlothian in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 92 occasions. His club-list included Stevenston Thistle, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Rangers and Dumbarton. James died on Tuesday, 4th January, 1944, in Trail, British Columbia, aged 62. |
 The son of Hugh Sommen, James got his start in the rough and tumble of the Ayshire (senior) League with Stevenston Thistle. He was a talented outside right, but had a bit of a temper; or let's just say there are many reports of his competitive spirit! He played in every single League game in his first season at Motherwell (1901-02) and regularly scored in almost half of his games over his few seasons there, which was a very good return from the wing. He maintained his good form at Meadowside, although he never scored quite so often for Thistle. He did endear himself to the faithful by scoring against both Rangers and Celtic in his first season with the Jags. He finished his footballing career with Dumbarton in 1907-08. After his footballing days were over he married Elizabeth McVie, McFee or McPhee, depending on which document you prefer. As anyone researching his story will confirm, mis-spellings were rife across all of their documentation over the years. Make of that what you will! The 29-year-old James, together with Elizabeth, emigrated to Quebec in 1910, where they started to raise a family of their own. |
| (WS/JK) |
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