James Mullen (6 January 1923 – 23 October 1987) was an English international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Mullen spent his whole career at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

where he won three

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

championships and the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. He also represented the England national team at both the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

and 1954 World Cup.

Career

Mullen joined the Midlanders in June 1937, turned professional on his 17th birthday, and remained with the club until his retirement in May 1960. His league debut came in February 1939, in a 4–1 win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. He made 488 appearances in total, scoring 112 goals, helping the club win their only three

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

titles ( 1953–54, 1957–58 and 1958–59) as well as the

in 1949. He also played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, earning 12 caps. He became England's first ever substitute in an international on 18 May 1950, scoring against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Heysel Stadium The King Baudouin Stadium (french: Stade Roi Baudouin , nl, Koning Boudewijnstadion ) is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. Located in the Heysel district of the City of Brussels, it was built to embellish the Heysel Plateau in ...

in a 4–1 win. He also played in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

and the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

. He scored 6 goals, including in the 1954 World Cup against Switzerland. During wartime, he served as a soldier in the Army from 1942 onward, based at Farnborough, Catterick and

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

. After retiring from football, he ran a sports shop in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

until shortly before his death.

Career statistics

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers * First Division: 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59; runners-up: 1938–39, 1949–50, 1954–55 *

: 1949 * FA Charity Shield: 1949 (Shared)

References

External links

Official Wolves profileWolves Heroes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullen, Jimmy 1923 births 1987 deaths English footballers England international footballers England wartime international footballers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Reading F.C. wartime guest players 1950 FIFA World Cup players 1954 FIFA World Cup players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War II Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English Football League representative players Association football forwards FA Cup Final players