Bury Football Club is saddened to learn of the passing of Leighton James at the age of 71.
The winger was part of Martin Dobson’s famous “Forgotten Fifteen” who won promotion in the 1984/85 season using only 15 players all season, Leighton made 46 appearances and scored five goals.
James won 54 caps for Wales, scoring 10 goals including a famous penalty to secure victory over England at Wembley in 1977.
In his long and storied career he made almost 650 club appearances, turning out for clubs such as Burnley, Swansea, Derby, QPR, Sunderland and Newport County.
He later held various coaching positions at a number of clubs, including Llanelli, before moving into media work as a columnist and pundit, where the directness and honesty he showed as a player continued to be in evidence.
The thoughts of everyone at Bury are with Leighton’s friends and family at this sad time.
Once a Shaker. Always a Shaker.
