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Joe Harris |
Joseph Harris was born on Sunday, 19th March, 1893, in Dalmarnock, Glasgow. The 5' 8 (11st 4lbs) midfielder signed for George Easton's Thistle on Monday, 9th June, 1913, having most recently been with Strathclyde. Aged 20, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 16th August, 1913, in a 2-1 win at home to Motherwell in the SFL First Division. Joe scored his first goal for Thistle on Monday, 13th April, 1914, in a 1-1 draw at home to Rangers in the SFL First Division. He scored the last of his 6 goals on Saturday, 31st December, 1921, in a 4-1 win away to Dumbarton in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Wednesday, 28th February, 1923, in a 3-0 win at home to Motherwell in the SFL First Division, having clocked up an impressive 250 appearances as a Jag. His club-list included Shettleston Juniors, Strathclyde, Partick Thistle, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United and York City. Joe died on Sunday, 29th October, 1933, in Glasgow, aged 40. |
In February, 1921, writing in the Sunday Post after our Scottish Cup opener at Easter Road, Albert Buick, in common with most commentators at this time, was full of praise for our right half, who “tackled and fed in the way an Internationalist should”. As the Athletic News put it: “In the marvellously good half-hack line which has been Partick Thistle's sheet anchor, Harris has been the outstanding figure”. Joe was a linchpin of The Class Of '21, and was one of only three Jagsmen to feature in all eleven games of the Scottish Cup campaign. Indeed, at the time of that opening game in February, he was currently sitting on a personal best run of 38 consecutive competitive appearances, not having missed a game since last April. Very soon, winning the Scottish Cup with Thistle and British Championship with Scotland, would make for a breathtaking double entry on his CV. In the summer of '13, several senior clubs were showing an interest in the talented Brigton lad who had come through the ranks at Shettleston and Strathclyde, but, as the Scottish Referee put it, “manager Easton secured his signature whilst other aspirants awaited developments”. The 20-year-old made his debut on 16th August, 1913, starring in a 2-1 win at home to Motherwell in the SFL First Division, commanding from the off. What a shrewd signing he proved to be. Joe arrived as a left half, but gradually migrated to the right, to accommodate Jimmy McMullan and for the greater good of the team. He clocked up 248 appearances in his 10 years at Firhill, a figure greatly limited by the First World War, as Joe served with the Royal Garrison Artillery. So impressed were the Scottish selectors in that game at Easter Road, that they finally gave in to the calls for Joe to be capped, and he was duly selected for next week's match against Wales, ahead of George Halley (Burnley). At last, his consistency was being rewarded. Within days of this news, the Thistle directors ratified a lucrative benefit, which would be realized just 7 days after the Cup Final, in the form of a home League game against Ayr United, where the cup was paraded at half-time. As the Sunday Post put it: “They were accorded a magnificent ovation from their followers”. This benefit would very much prove to be a two-way relationship, as the Firhill board cashed in handsomely in 1923, when Joe commanded a huge transfer fee of £4,200 from Middlesbrough, before reuniting with his old Firhill buddy, Neil Harris, at Newcastle United, where, tellingly, he was again honoured with a benefit. On account of his service during WWI, Joe is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle returned →. |
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