James William Dickinson MBE (24 April 1925 – 8 November 1982) 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

left half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Dickinson holds the record for number of league appearances for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

(764). Only

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

's John Trollope and

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

' Dean Lewington have made more appearances for a single club. He signed for

as a trainee and made his debut in 1946 against

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 ...

. Settling into the side quickly at either wing-half or left-half, he was part of the team that won successive league championships in 1948–49 and 1949–50. His performances earned him a call-up to the England national team. He went on to win 48 caps for England, making him Portsmouth's most capped English player of all time. During his record 845 club appearances for Pompey and his 48 England caps he was never once booked or sent off, earning him the nickname 'Gentleman Jim'. As of 2022, he remains the only England player ever to have scored an own goal at the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, scoring past his own goalkeeper in a 4–4 draw against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

. Awarded the MBE for services to football in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, he played his last match for Pompey a year later, helping Pompey to a 1–1 end-of-season draw at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

that secured safety from relegation. And when he retired from playing, his association with the club continued. He served Pompey as public relations officer and then secretary before accepting the position of manager in May 1977. Relegation from the Third Division was avoided, but the next year Pompey dropped down a league. After three

heart attacks A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is retr ...

, Dickinson died aged 57 in 1982. The famous 'Pompey Chimes' were played in St Mary's Church in

Fratton Fratton is a residential and formerly industrial area of Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. Victorian style terraced houses are dominant in the area, typical of most residential areas of Portsmouth. Fratton has many discount shops and "greasy sp ...

at a packed memorial service. He is buried in Alton Cemetery. In 1998, he was included on the list of 100 Legends produced to celebrate the centenary of the Football League. Dickinson's image can be seen in the seating in the Fratton End stand in

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

. In his home town of Alton there is a pub named The Gentleman Jim and Dickinson Road in

was named in his honour. On 23 September 2023, a bronze statue of Dickinson by

Douglas Jennings Douglas Jennings MRSS (born 24 September 1966) is an English sculptor and a Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. Career Jennings studied Classical figurative sculpture at Stafford College, Stafford Art College and was inspired by the works ...

was unveiled at

by Jimmy's son Andrew Dickinson and former Portsmouth goalkeeper, Alan Knight. The statue was commissioned by the Pompey Supporters' Trust and crowdfunded by fans of the club.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Dickinson's image in Fratton Park
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, Jimmy 1925 births 1982 deaths England men's international footballers English football managers English men's footballers 1950 FIFA World Cup players 1954 FIFA World Cup players Portsmouth F.C. managers Portsmouth F.C. players English Football League players Sportspeople from Alton, Hampshire English Football League representative players Men's association football wing halves Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century English sportsmen