| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Jameson | ||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 28 October 2002 (aged 45) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1975 | Lourdes Celtic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1978 | Shamrock Rovers | 5 | (0) |
| 1978–1981 | St. Patrick's Athletic | 68 | (17) |
| 1981–1990 | Bohemians | 205 | (70) |
| International career | |||
| 1986–1990 | League of Ireland XI | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jackie Jameson was an Irish association football player during the 1970s and 1980s.
Jameson represented Shamrock Rovers, Dundalk (loan), St. Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians during his career. Known around Dalymount Park as "The Great Man", [1] he was inducted into the Bohemian F.C. Hall of Fame in November 2007. [2]
Jackie Jameson was born John Jameson on 27 March 1957 in Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, Dublin, the youngest son of John Jameson, a CIÉ employee, and Margaret Jameson (née Stephens). As a teenager he developed tetanus after cutting his leg playing football, and only the prompt action of a doctor saved his life. His recovery necessitated keeping his leg in cotton wool for twelve months. [3]
Jameson played his schoolboy football at Lourdes Celtic and Cherry Orchard before moving into League of Ireland football with Shamrock Rovers in 1975. [4]
He made a scoring debut on 21 October 1975 in a FAI League Cup tie while in the previous month on 11 September he scored against Japan in a 3–2 win in Tokyo. He struggled, however, to gain regular first team football under John Giles and after only 5 appearances he moved to St Patrick's Athletic in 1978 where he began to establish himself as a player of some class.
Jameson joined St Patrick's Athletic in February 1978. [5] He spent 3 seasons at Pats, reaching the FAI Cup final in 1980 where they lost to Waterford. [4] He left in 1981 having scored 17 times in 68 league appearances. [5]
Jameson joined Billy Young's Bohemians on a free transfer in 1981. [4] He scored on his league debut on 13 September against Sligo, the same day Paul Doolin, who also scored, made his debut. He was the top scorer at Bohemians for the next four seasons, scoring 49 goals, until the 1985–86 season when injury and illness restricted him to a handful of appearances. [3]
He spent 9 years at Dalymount Park until his retirement in 1990. Jackie would end up as Bohemian's top league scorer in 5 of those seasons. He was runner up in the FAI Cup in 1982 and 1983 and runner up in the League of Ireland in 1984 and 1985. Although he was never capped at full international level, he was selected for the League of Ireland XI and was part of the squad that participated in the 1988 Olympic qualifiers. [3] [6] He played 303 competitive matches for Bohs after making his debut against Shelbourne on 30 August 1981 with his last game on 28 January 1990 against UCD. Scored once in six European appearances.
Jackie Jameson died by drowning at Dún Laoghaire on 28 October 2002. [4] [3] [5] [7] He was inducted into the Bohemians Hall of Fame in 2007 and a function room at Dalymount Park is named in his honour. [2] [5] Jameson's reputation among Bohemians fans earned him the nickname, "The Great Man". [1] [8] He is still a legend amongst the Bohs fans and many songs and flags have been created in honour of him.