Ernest 'Cliff' Thorley (17 January 1916 – 2006) was an English professional

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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and winger. He most notably played in

the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

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 ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

and

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

Playing career

Thorley was born in

Wath WATH (970 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Sports radio, Sports format. Licensed to Athens, Ohio, United States, the station is currently owned by Total Media Group and features programming from CBS News Radio, Fox Sports R ...

, and began his football career with

Frickley Colliery Frickley & South Elmsall Colliery was opened by the Carlton Main Colliery Company Ltd in 1903 in South Elmsall, in Yorkshire, England. Frickley & South Elmsall Colliery The first sod was cut on 23 April 1903 of shafts No.1 and No.2 and the ...

, before turning professional with

at age 17. Whilst playing for Frickley he captained Yorkshire and represented his county on multiple occasions. One year later he joined Hull City, and then played for Kidderminster Harriers in the Birmingham league before joining

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

. Thorley was a very popular player in Cheltenham. He played in 37 of 38 League and Cup matches—missing only one because of a severe cold—and scoring 13 times. Wrote the ''Gloucestershire Echo'', "One of the fastest wingers ever to assist Cheltenham Town, Thorley is the possessor of a devastating shot which, with his remarkable speed, has caused defences many anxious times." Thorley, then 22, was transferred to

in 1938. In 1939, he made a shock decision to retire from professional football at a young age to become a policeman in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

. In 1942, he played in the Inter-Allied Services Cup, a wartime football competition involving British serviceman, police and firefighters. Other members of the police squad were

Jack Nicholas John Thomas Nicholas (26 November 1910 – 8 February 1977) was an English professional association football, footballer who played as a wing half and right back for Derby County F.C., Derby County. After relocating to Wales with his family at ...

Bob Brocklebank Bob Brocklebank (23 May 1908 – September 1981) was an English football player and manager. He played for Aston Villa and Burnley, for whom he was top scorer in the 1937–38 season, before becoming a manager. He took charge of Chesterfield, ...

, and Tom Smith.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorley, Cliff 1916 births 2006 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Frickley Athletic F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players Date of death missing People from Wath upon Dearne Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham Footballers from South Yorkshire 20th-century English sportsmen