Football Legends | Jimmy McIlroy

Burnley legend Jimmy McIlroy looks back on his football career, beginning with wartime games played with a tennis ball on the streets of Lambeg in his native Northern Ireland. He also recalls playing with the great Stanley Matthews at Stoke and gaining international honours with Northern Ireland.

After 12 seasons at Burnley and 439 league appearances, Jimmy McIlroy was put on the transfer list by chairman Bob Lord, a move that caused outrage among the fans, many of whom responded with a boycott of the club's games after the player was sold to Stoke City in 1963. Burnley's Turf Moor ground has a stand named in McIlroy's honour and he was granted the Freedom of the Borough of Burnley in 2008.