James Bye

Life and career

Bye was born in 1920 in the Aston district of Birmingham, the son of Arthur Bye and his wife Lillian née Featherstone, and attended St Peter's School in Harborne. He played youth football for Bournbrook Alliance, from where he signed amateur forms with Birmingham as a 14-year-old. He played for Shirley Juniors, a team "fostered" by Birmingham's vice-chairman, David Wiseman, before turning professional with Birmingham "immediately on reaching 17". While not required by the Army, he played 36 games for Birmingham in the wartime competitions, and also made guest appearances for Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich Albion, before retiring from the game in 1944.

At the start of the war, Bye was living with his parents in Vivian Road, Harborne, and working in a tobacconist's shop. He married Margaret Moore in 1955. Bye's death was registered in June 1995 in the Blackpool and Fylde district.