Player #112 for Aston Villa, James William Crabtree, known as Jimmy Crabtree, played as a left half for the club.

Jimmy represented Villa between 1895-96 and 1901-02.

Jimmy was born in Burnley on 23rd December 1871 and made his debut as a 23 year old on 2nd September 1895.

In his time with the Villa Jimmy won 7 major trophies: 4 League Championships in 1895-96, 1896-97, 1898-99 and 1899-00 as well as the 1896-97 FA Cup and 2 Charity Shields.

In his first two seasons, Villa won the Football League, and secured the double by lifting the FA Cup in 1896-97, during which Jimmy showed his versatility by playing as a full-back as well as a half-back.

Jimmy scored the crucial third goal in the final, held at Crystal Palace in front of 65,891 people, as Villa recovered from a 2-1 deficit to beat Everton, 3-2.

By a twist of fate, as rival teams for the league title were involved in league matches on the afternoon of the 1896-97 FA Cup Final, results meant that Villa’s lead at the top of the table became unassailable.

Therefore, Villa became the only club to have won the League and FA Cup on the same day.

Jimmy played in 28 of 30 of Villa’s games in the 1895-96 Championship winning season and in the following season’s double winning season played 25 out of 30 of Villa’s league games.

Jimmy made 31 appearances in the 1898-99 Championship winning season however the following year’s title success saw Jimmy appear less often playing 17 times as Villa took their 4th league title in 5 years.

The Villa News and Record of 1st September 1906 paid tribute to Jimmy:

“One of England’s greatest players. Shone in any position. Great as a half-back, but greater, possibly, as a back, kicking cleanly and with rare precision. A keen, skilful tackler, clever at close quarters and equally reliable in the open; cool, resourceful, and brainy. Excelled in the finer points of the game, and one of the most versatile players England has boasted. For many seasons unrivalled in his position.”

Jimmy’s final game for Villa came on the 12th April 1902 aged 30 after which he moved to Plymouth Argyle.

Jimmy had played his entire Villa career under the George Ramsay led Management Committee.

After a spell of coaching with a number of non-League clubs, he returned to Aston Villa and became a scout for the club while also becoming the landlord of the Royal Victoria Cross public house in Birmingham.

Jimmy passed away following a scalding accident at his home in Aston on the 31st May 1908 aged just 36.