Jimmy Thorpe

Jimmy Thorpe
Personnel
Surname	James Horatio Thorpe
birthday	September 16, 1913
place of birth	Jarrow ,  England
date of death	February 5, 1936
Place of death	Sunderland ,  England
position	goalkeeper
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1930	AFC Jarrow
1930-1936	Sunderland AFC	123 (0)
1 Only league games are given.

James Horatio "Jimmy" Thorpe (born September 16, 1913 in Jarrow , † February 5, 1936 in Sunderland ) was an English football goalkeeper.

Career

Thorpe worked as a mechanic at the Palmers shipyard in Jarrow and signed a professional contract with Jarrow AFC in the North Eastern League in September 1930 , just two weeks before moving to Sunderland AFC in the Football League First Division for £ 250 .

After he made his league debut at the age of 17 on October 25, 1930, he established himself as a regular player in 1932 at the young age of 19 as a goalkeeper. In the 1935/36 season Sunderland was on the way to the championship when Thorpe died unexpectedly on February 5, 1936. Just four days earlier, Thorpe, who was dependent on regular insulin intake due to diabetes , was in a tough league game against Chelsea in goal, in which he had to take several kicks in a crowd, but was then able to continue the game.

An investigation by the Football Association later suggested that a kick to his head in that game triggered the diabetic coma from which he never awoke. Sunderland finished the season eight points ahead of champions, Thorpe's championship medal was presented to his widow. As a result of his death and several other goalkeeper injuries, the FA's rules regarding attacking goalkeepers have been tightened.

successes

• English master: 1935/36 (posthumous)

literature

• Garth Dykes & Doug Lamming: All the Lads - A Complete Who's Who of Sunderland AFC Polar Print Group Ltd, Leicester 2000, ISBN 1-899538-15-1 , p. 418 .

Web links

• Detailed usage statistics at thestatcat.co.uk