Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Name Sam Irving | ||
Full name Samuel Johnstone Irving Date of birth (1893-08-28)28 August 1893 Date of death 12 December 1968(1968-12-12) (aged 75) | ||
Samuel Johnstone Irving (28 August 1893 - 12 December 1968) was an Irish footballer and manager. He played in The Football League for Bristol City, Cardiff City, Chelsea and Bristol Rovers, and for Dundee in the Scottish Football League. He won the FA Cup, Welsh Cup and Charity Shield with Cardiff in 1927. At international level, Irving made 18 appearances for Ireland. After retiring as a player, he was co-manager of Dundee United.
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Club
Irving began his footballing career in the North-East of England, playing for a number of non-League clubs, and in 1911 having an unsuccessful trial with Newcastle United. He was given his break in the Football League by Bristol City. He signed in November 1913 to make eighteen appearances mainly at inside-forward.
He next signed with Dundee in March 1915.
After the First World War, Irving had spells back in the English North-East playing with Blyth Spartans, and one of his early clubs, Shildon Athletic.
He returned to Dundee in 1922. At Dundee he was a Scottish Cup runner-up in with Dave Halliday and David McLean in 1925 when Celtic defeated Dundee 2-1. Jimmy McGrory scored with a headed last minute winner.
In June 1926 Irving signed for Cardiff City in an exchange deal that took Joe Cassidy the other way. He made his Bluebirds' debut in a 1-1 draw at Leeds United early in the season. He remained a regular in the side throughout the campaign, initially at right-half, but later shifting to inside-right, where he played in the 1927 FA Cup Final victory over Arsenal, Cardiff taking the trophy outside England for the first time. He continued as a regular in the Irish half-back line throughout his time at Ninian Park, filling in as inside-left for a match against Scotland in 1927 and also captaining the side.
In March 1928 Irving joined Chelsea, serving as "a sharp-tackling fetch-and-carry" wing-half in their 1929-30 promotion campaign. While with Chelsea, Irving toured South America in 1929. The team were surprised by the unsporting behaviour of their opponents, and antics of the crowd who pelted them with oranges. Irving’s answer was to catch the food, peel it and eat it! In May 1932 he returned to Bristol, this time signing for Rovers, retiring from playing a year later.
International
Irving won a total of eighteen international caps for Ireland at right-half and left-half, ten of them while with Dundee. He played in the win over England in 1923. He made his final international appearance at the age of 38 while at Chelsea, in a 4-2 defeat against Wales.
Management career and after
With his playing days behind him, Irving settled in Dundee where he ran a billiards hall. In 1938 he was involved in a takeover of Dundee United, taking control of the team as joint-manager/director with Jimmy Brownlie for the 1938-39 season. He stepped down from the manager's role after a year, but remained with the club as a director.