Full name James Easton, Jr. Name Jim Jr. Playing position | Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |
Date of birth (1965-06-03) June 3, 1965 (age 50) 1981 Sutherland High School (Vancouver) | ||
Place of birth Dumbarton, Scotland | ||
James Easton, Jr. (born June 3, 1965), known as Jim Easton or Jimmy Easton, is a retired Canadian soccer midfielder who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, the Canadian Soccer League and for the Canada men's national team.
Contents
Senior career
Easton was drafted, as a 16-year-old, by the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL on December 14, 1981 and had previously trained with Leicester City in England. After training with Tampa Bay's reserve team in 1982 and in Brazil at São Paulo FC with three other young Rowdies' players, Easton finally cracked the line-up with the Rowdies senior squad in 1983, making six appearances that season. Earlier in the year, he also appeared in several matches during Tampa Bay's indoor campaign, that had culminated with them winning the 1983 title.
He later played for the New Westminster Q.P.R. squad that was runner-up for the 1987 Canadian national championship. He was selected as a 1987 CSL All-star for the Vancouver 86ers after netting 7 goals in the 20 match season. Easton was also a part of the 86ers' 46-match unbeaten run (36 wins, 9 draws) that spanned parts of the 1988 and 1989 seasons and are now in the BC Hall of Fame. In 77 career matches for the 86es, he netted 24 goals, good for sixth all-time.
National team
In 1982 at age 17, Easton appeared in 3 matches for the Canadian under 20 squad. Between 1987 and 1992 he appeared in six matches for the Canadian MNT. He was considered by many to be the best purely technical player Canada ever produced, but numerous injuries cut his career short.
Personal life
Easton holds an M.A. and an M.B.A., and as of 2011 is the Managing Director of the San Francisco-based ReThink Management Group, which focuses primarily on sports consulting.
His father, Jim Easton, played for several Scottish sides, including Hibernian and Dundee, before playing one season in the NASL and later managing the original Vancouver Whitecaps during the Whitecaps' first two seasons.