Jimmy Mullen (soccer player, 1923)

Jimmy Mullen
Personnel
Surname	James Mullen
birthday	January 6, 1923
place of birth	Newcastle-upon-Tyne ,  England
date of death	October 23, 1987
Place of death	Wolverhampton ,  England
position	Left winger
Juniors
Years	station
	Newcastle Boys
	Northumberland Boys
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1937-1960	Wolverhampton Wanderers	445 (98)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1947-1954	England	12 0(6)
1 Only league games are given.

James "Jimmy" Mullen (born January 6, 1923 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne , † October 23, 1987 in Wolverhampton ) was an English football player . Mostly on the left wing 12-time England international spent his entire professional career with the Wolverhampton Wanderers and was in the only three championship teams of the "Wolves" after winning the Cup in 1949 in the 1950s.

Athletic career

After Jimmy Mullen had come into contact with football as a young child in school sports - first with St. Mary's Juniors and later with St. Aloysius RC - he played for the Newcastle Boys and the Northumberland Boys in his native Newcastle. A career at the renowned club Newcastle United seemed only a matter of time for the technically gifted young player before a teacher convinced him of the advantages of youth work at Wolverhampton Wanderers. So he was drawn to the West Midlands in 1937 , where he later met the young Billy Wright as a youth national player in the youth department .

On February 18, 1939, shortly after his 16th birthday under coach Frank Buckley, he celebrated his debut on the professional team and became the youngest Wolves player ever used in a professional game. In addition to the eight league games that he made in the ending 1938/39 season , the left-footed Mullen was also used in important FA Cup games at the end, when he won the semi -finals after a 2-0 quarter-final victory over Everton against Grimsby Town in front of almost 77,000 spectators at Old Trafford , which he and his team clearly won 5-0. In the surprising 4-1 defeat in the final against Portsmouth FC , he was not in the formation of the Wolves. When the Football League interrupted the subsequent 1939/40 season after only a few games due to the Second World War, Mullen was active together with Billy Wright as a guest player at Leicester City before he returned to his home club and scored 27 goals in 87 so-called "Wartime Games" lap. Before he was called up for military service in 1942, he played briefly for various smaller clubs, such as Darlington FC .

After the resumption of official game operations in 1946, Mullen built on his previously shown performances and immediately won a regular place in the newly formed Wolves team. In addition, he made his debut in the English national team on April 12, 1947 in the 1-1 draw against Scotland , where he had already been on several national teams during the war. In the club he developed, especially with his counterpart on the right side, Johnny Hancocks, a “wing tong” feared in the entire league - in addition to the technically adept and passable Mullen, the short Hancocks was a little more dangerous and more powerful. Together they won the FA Cup in 1949 and defeated Leicester City 3-1 in the final. Mullen, who became the first substitute for the English national team in a friendly against Belgium on May 18, 1950 , received the call for the upcoming 1950 World Cup in Brazil , in which England took part for the first time. There he was in the team after the 2-0 opening win against Chile , which sensationally lost 1-0 to the United States in the second group game .

In contrast to his national team career, which ended for him at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland with a 2-0 win over the hosts , Mullen achieved great triumphs in club football in the 1950s. He won three English championships in 1954, 1958 and 1959 and appeared in many "floodlight games" to which the Wolves invited top European teams in the middle of the decade. His league appearance on March 2, 1959 against Tottenham Hotspur was the 486th and last competitive game in Jimmy Mullen's career. He remained loyal to the team before his retirement in the following season 1959/60 , but was no longer used by the coaching team. Two years later, the club officially said goodbye to him with a benefit game ("testimonial match"), which he shared with the famous Billy Wright.

After his active career, Mullen opened a sports shop in Wolverhampton. In 1987, "Gentleman Jim", as he was called by his followers, died.

successes

• English champion: 1954, 1958, 1959
• FA Cup Winner: 1949

literature

• Matthews, Tony: Wolverhampton Wanderers - The Complete Record . Breedon Books, 2008, ISBN 978-1-85983-632-3 , pp. 141-142 .

Web links

• Short Biography of www.wolves.co.uk (Engl.)