James Horatio Thorpe (16 September 1913 – 5 February 1936) was an English footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He played 139 games as a

for his only club,

. 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 backpass in a game against Chelsea at

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; it h ...

. He continued to take part until the match finished, but collapsed at home afterwards and died in hospital four days later from

diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or th ...

and heart failure "accelerated by the rough usage of the opposing team". 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. Sunderland went on to win the First Division title that same year, and Thorpe's medal was presented to his widow. 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. Seventy years after Jimmy Thorpe's death, his son contributed towards a book penned by local historian John Kelters, ''1 Jimmy Thorpe''. May Thorpe remarried in 1940 to John Linklater Battye. Widowed again on the death of her second husband in 1976, she later moved to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and died at

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park and j ...

in the county in 1991, at the age of 77.

Honours

* First Division: 1935–36

References

External links

Full details of Sunderland career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Jimmy 1913 births 1936 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Sunderland A.F.C. players Association football players who died while playing Sport deaths in England Footballers from Jarrow English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen