Watch It Jimmy ... Shay Given Is Out To Get Yer!
By Nu Mad
Updated Wednesday, 27th June 2007
Shay Given has made 413 appearances for the Mighty Magpies, and he has one man in his sights.
James "Jimmy" Lawrence was born on February 16 1885 in Glasgow and the man has, since 1922, been Newcastle's top guy when it comes to wearing the Toon jersey. Never black and white, it has to be said, because (like Shay Given) he stood between the sticks.
The Irish international is 83 games short of the record and Shay currently stands in 6th place, but he should be in the top three by the end of the new season if he stays clear of injury.
1 Jimmy Lawrence 496
2 Frank Hudspeth 472
3 Frank Clark 457
4 Bill McCracken 432
5 Alf McMichael 431
6 Shay Gven 413
Jimmy Lawrence (died November 1934) played for Newcastle United between 1904 and 1921.
Lawrence's first club was Partick Athletic, from where he moved to Glasgow Perthshire. Although still connected to Glasgow Perthshire, he sporadically played for Edinburgh side
Hibernian when their regular custodian Harry Rennie was unavailable.
He played with Newcastle for eighteen years after joining the Tyneside club in 1904. He also represented the Scottish national team on one occasion, a 1-1 draw with England at Goodison Park in
Liverpool.
Lawrence showed an aptitude for administration when Chairman of The Players' Union in his later days at Newcastle and after his playing retirement Lawrence moved into management.
His first appointment was with then Second Division side South Shields (1922-1923) before joining
Preston North End. He stayed with the Lilywhites until 1925, when he relocated to Germany to manage a team in Karlsruhe.
Lawrence later returned to Scotland and in 1933 was elected chairman of
Stranraer. He died while in office a year later.
