Jimmy will always treasure his Eusebio gift

A chance move to Canada landed Jimmy Sinclair with a dream team-mate.

It’s the time of year when some footballers are looking for a fresh start. The January transfer window is the ideal time to move to a new club maybe even a new country.

In 1971, Jimmy Sinclair made the decision to emigrate after suffering the disappointment of failing to land a club in Scotland. Moving to Canada eventually led him to experiencing a very different type of football and becoming one of Eusebio’s last-ever team-mates.

Jimmy was a highly-rated Junior international with Glasgow side Yoker Athletic and looked certain to join the senior ranks.

He recalls: “I had trials with Queen of the South and Arbroath without success, but Clyde were very keen on me. They were a First Division team at the time and I enjoyed training with them.

“I remember their captain, Harry Glasgow, speaking to me after my trial and saying he’d see me at pre-season training. I went into the office expecting to sing but the manager, Archie Robertson, just said they’d keep in touch.

“I knew Clyde players Dom Sullivan and Danny McGrain well and they were shocked I wasn’t taken on. That made up my mind to join some of my family in moving to Hamilton, Ontario.”

Jimmy turned out for semi-professional sides Hamilton-Croatia and Hamilton Steelers before moving to a new league in the USA.

He says: “A former team-mate recommended me for a try-out with the Buffalo Stallions. They were a team in the new Major Indoor Soccer League.

“It was a tremendously exciting time. We played games on a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. We got sell-out crowds of 16,500 at the Buffalo Auditorium. Foootball was getting bigger crowds than ice hockey!

“We had a lot of Yugoslavian players and Stan Karasi, who scored against Scotland at the 1974 World Cup Finals, was one of my team-mates.”

Jimmy, at the age of 27, was voted the league’s Rookie of the Year.

Portuguese legend Eusebio, who died recently, chose Buffalo to be his last-ever football team.

Jimmy says: “He was a quality player but also a really great person. Injuries meant he couldn’t play a lot but I remember looking over during one of our road games and he was cheerleading behind the bench.

“He had time for everyone and was a great help to the young lads. I asked if I could have his jersey as a souvenir and he said I could if he could have mine. I met him in Toronto many years later and he asked if I still had it.

“People have said I should sell it but to me it’s priceless and something I’ll always treasure.”

Jimmy went on to play with players like Gordon Hill and Roy Wegerle at Tacoma Stars before hanging up his boots.

Now 62, Jimmy works for the Canadian postal service, while continuing to play and coach football.