Old Photograph Jim Baxter Scotland

Old photograph of Jim Baxter who was born on 29 September 1939 in Hill of Beath in Fife, Scotland. James Curran Baxter was a left footed Scottish footballer who played as a midfielder. He is generally regarded as one of the country's greatest ever players. He was born, educated and started his career in Fife, but his peak playing years were in the early 1960s with the Glasgow club Rangers, whom he helped to win ten trophies between 1960 and 1965, and where he became known as " Slim Jim ". However he started drinking heavily during a four month layoff caused by a leg fracture in December 1964, his fitness suffered, and he was transferred to Sunderland, England, in the summer of 1965. In two and a half years at Sunderland he played 98 games and scored 12 goals, becoming known for drinking himself unconscious the night before a match and playing well the next day. At the end of 1967 Sunderland transferred him to Nottingham Forest, who gave him a free transfer back to Rangers in 1969 after 50 games. After a further year with Rangers Baxter retired from football in 1970, at the age of 31. In February 2001, Baxter was diagnosed as suffering from cancer of the pancreas, and he died at his home on Glasgow's South Side on 14 April 2001, with his partner Norma and his sons Alan and Steven at his bedside. His funeral was held in Glasgow Cathedral, where a reading was given by Gordon Brown, a long time fan of Raith Rovers Football Club, where Baxter began his career.



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