James Fryatt (2 September 1940 – 5 June 2020) was an English

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 striker. During his playing career he was nicknamed ''Pancho''.

Football League

A regular scorer for all of his club sides, the stockily built forward was the archetypal

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

, spending most of his career switching between lower league sides. However whilst appearing for

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

on 25 April 1964 Fryatt established a

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

record by scoring after only four seconds, the fastest goal in the competition's history. Fryatt was well regarded for his time at

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

, where his strike partnership with

Bill Atkins William, Bill or Billy Atkins may refer to: * William Atkins (doctor) (floruit, fl. 1694), English quack and supposed curer of gout * William Atkins (Jesuit) (1601–1681), English Jesuit * William Atkins (architect) (1811–1887), Irish architect ...

was so formidable that the two have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame as a unit. Fryatt signed for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

from

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

for a sum of £8,000 in 1970 and although he only spent 21 months at

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

, he became an instant hit and legend among supporters for scoring 42 goals in 81 appearances in all competitions.

NASL

Like many of his contemporaries Fryatt appeared in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

during the summer months, first appearing in the 1973 season with the title winning

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors ...

, for whom he scored in the play-offs against

Toronto Metros Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He returned to the club the following year before finishing his career in the 1975 season initially with

Hartford Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

and then back in Philadelphia.

Post-retirement

After retiring as a player, Fryatt served briefly as the assistant manager of the original

Las Vegas Quicksilvers The Las Vegas Quicksilvers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1977 season. The team was based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and played their home games at Las Vegas Stadium. After the 19 ...

before settling permanently in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

where he worked at casinos before becoming a mechanic for a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

course. He was the father of professional golfer Ed Fryatt. He died 5 June 2020 in Las Vegas.Jim Fryatt (1940-2020)
Oldham Athletic

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fryatt, Jim 1940 births 2020 deaths English men's footballers English football managers Charlton Athletic F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Southport F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Southampton Philadelphia Atoms players Connecticut Bicentennials players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches Men's association football forwards English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English emigrants to the United States