James ‘Jimmy’ Settle was born on 5th September
1875 at Millom, Cumbria the son of Stephen and Hannah Settle. His parents and
his older siblings hailed from the Bolton area and appear to have moved to
Millom for work in the ironworks which dominated the town. By the time of the
1881 census his father had died and by 1891 the family had moved back to their
roots, living at 12 Huxley Street, Halliwell, near Bolton. Jimmy and his
brother Stephen were both employed at a bleachworks in the town.
By the time of the 1894-95 season Jimmy was playing
professional football for Bolton Wanderers. After three seasons with Bury he
then joined Everton in 1899 for a fee of £400 and went on to play 237 games and
score 84 goals before moving to Stockport in 1908. During his time with Everton
he played 6 times for England, scoring 6 goals. He was in the England team
which was playing Scotland when the 1902 Ibrox disaster took place. The goal he
scored in this game does not feature in official records. He was a member of
the team which won the F A Cup in 1906.
He married Catherine Leigh Higham, from Aspull, near Wigan,
in 1898 and in 1901 the couple were living with their children John and Bertha
at 18 Eton Street L4. They would have a clear view of Goodison Park which stood
at the end of their street.
After retiring from football he was yet another ex-player
who tried his hand at running a pub. In 1911 he was the licensee of the Dog and
Partridge in Moor Lane, Horwich.
He lived the rest of his life in the same area, dying at Horwich
on 1st June 1954 and being buried at St. Peter’s Church, Halliwell.
An article in the Liverpool Daily Post [5.6.1954] reporting his death
referred to him as “a tubby player who dribbled on a sixpence…a Hungarian
box of tricks and most unselfish”.
