James Bonthrone (16 June 1929 – 7 June 2008)[2] was a Scottish professional football player, coach and manager.
Born in Kinglassie, Fife,[3] Bonthrone's playing career centred on his time with a successful East Fife team,[4] although he also played for Dundee, Stirling Albion and for George Farm at Queen of the South.[3][5] He won the Scottish League Cup as a player with East Fife[6] in 1953.
After retiring as a player, Bonthrone managed East Fife from 1963 until 1969[6][4] before assisting Eddie Turnbull at Aberdeen.[3][6] Bonthrone was assistant manager when Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1970.[5] He was promoted to become the Aberdeen manager in 1971 after Turnbull moved to Hibernian.[3][5][6][4]
Bonthrone managed the Dons from 1971 until his resignation in 1975.[3][5] The club won the Drybrough Cup in 1971 just after he was appointed.[3][6] He gave Willie Miller his debut, but had to contend with the high-profile departures of Martin Buchan and Joe Harper,[5][6] which effectively broke up the team that had been successful under Turnbull.[5][4]
After leaving Aberdeen, he became commercial manager with East Fife before retiring.[5][6]
