Jimmy Thorpe
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Horatio Thorpe[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 September 1913 | ||
| Place of birth | Jarrow, England | ||
| Date of death | 5 February 1936 (aged 22) | ||
| Place of death | Sunderland, England | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1930–1936 | Sunderland | 123 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
James Horatio Thorpe (16 September 1913 – 9 February 1936) was an English footballer born in Jarrow.
He played 139 games as a goalkeeper for his only club, Sunderland. He signed when he was 17 after attending Jarrow Central School. He had a promising career, becoming a first-team regular for the club from 1932–33 season, when he was still only 19 years old.
His life and career were cut short on 1 February 1936 when he was kicked in the head and chest after he had picked up the ball following a
This tragic end to Thorpe's career led to a change in the rules, where players were no longer allowed to raise their foot to a goalkeeper when he had control of the ball in his arms.[3] Sunderland went on to win the First Division title that same year, and Thorpe's medal was presented to his widow.[4] During the 75th anniversary of the game between Sunderland and Chelsea both goalkeepers wore black armbands as a mark of respects for Jimmy's efforts.
He was survived by his wife May and three-year-old son Ronnie.[5] Seventy years after Jimmy Thorpe's death, his son contributed towards a book penned by local historian John Kelters, 1 Jimmy Thorpe.[6] May Thorpe remarried in 1940 to[7] John Linklater Battye.[8] Widowed again on the death of her second husband in 1976, she later moved to Lancashire, and died at Ulverston in the county in 1991, at the age of 77.[9]
Honours
References
- ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
- ^ "Goalkeeper's Death". The Times. London. 14 February 1936.
- ^ "On the run with dogs and a long-dead goalkeeper - Telegraph". London. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007.
- ^ A Love Supreme – The Independent Sunderland Football Club Fanzine
- ^ "The tragic story of Sunderland's Jimmy Thorpe, who died playing for the club he loved". 6 October 2017.
- ^ "Saving the memory of tragic goalie - Sunderland Echo". www.sunderlandecho.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018.
- ^ "Search Results for World records".
- ^ "FreeBMD - Search".
- ^ "Search Results for World records".