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Partick Thistle – a People’s History will be the 150th anniversary book; author Kenny Pieper needs your memories and stories from following the Jags… read more on the club website  or get straight to it by e-mailing: ku.oc.cftp|051#ku.oc.cftp|051 |
| Jim Rowan |
| see also: Jim Rowan (opposition manager) → |
 James Trainer Rowan was born on Saturday, 27th July, 1935, in Bridgeton, Glasgow. The forward signed for Scot Symon's Thistle on Monday, 15th September, 1969, having most recently been with Clyde. Aged 34, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 20th September, 1969, in a 2-1 defeat away to Clyde in the SFL First Division. There were no goals for Jim during his spell with Thistle. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 15th November, 1969, in a 1-0 defeat away to St Mirren in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 9 occasions. His club-list included Shettleston Juniors, Celtic, Stirling Albion, Clyde, Dunfermline Athletic, Airdrieonians, Falkirk and Partick Thistle. Jim died on Sunday, 21st June, 2015, in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, aged 79. |
 Jim joined Thistle from Falkirk at a grim time for the Thistle support. The club had an indifferent 1968/69 season, pretty much the same as some of the seasons prior to that. With manager Willie Thornton departing to be assistant manager at Ibrox, Scot Symon became manager and the young players who would enjoy League Cup glory a short time later hadn’t yet come through to the first team. So September 1969 saw the forward join Thistle, and he additionally had a coaching role. Jim was also Chairman of the Scottish Professional Footballers Association. A year previously, in September 1968, Falkirk parted company with their manager John Prentice, with Jim taking over as caretaker manager. He also had a coaching role at Brockville. When new manager Willie Cunningham came in in October 1968, Jim lost both the interim manager and reserve team coaching roles, reverting to being a player. He complained to the press about this, and was promptly suspended for 14 days by Cunningham. His SFA appeal was upheld, but clearly the new manager and his coach didn’t see eye to eye. At Thistle, 1969/70 was no better than the previous campaign. Jim played 8 matches, none of which resulted in a Thistle win. By the summer of 1970, Thistle has been relegated, and Jim retired from playing. He had a long list of clubs – Celtic, Stirling Albion, Clyde, Dunfermline, Airdrie and then Falkirk and the Jags. At Falkirk he had joked that “I may not have won many medals, but I sure have some collection of club ties.” Jim was also manager of East Stirlingshire, with Alex Ferguson as his successor, and interim manager of Clyde in 1973. The rejuvinated Thistle would win the Second Division in 1970/71 and, of course, the League Cup in October 1971, both with Davie McParland as manager, Scot Symon having “moved upstairs”. According to his obituaries in the Herald and Scotsman, Jim worked as a tool-maker and then in finance when he was a part-time player and, after quitting football, became a publican successfully running the Horseshoe Bar in Airdrie. Jim passed away in June 2015 aged 79. |
| (DMAC) |