James Henry Dimmock (5 December 1900 – 23 December 1972) was a

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 scored the winning goal for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

in the

1921 FA Cup Final The 1921 FA Cup Final was contested by Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers, which at the time was a Football League Second Division club, at Stamford Bridge. Spurs won by a single goal, scored by Jimmy Dimmock, eight minutes into the s ...

. He 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 ...

and became the fans' favourite with his mazy runs and trickery, and also won three caps 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 ...

Early years

Dimmock was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

on 5 December 1900 where he attended Montague Rd School. He played junior football for Park Avenue and Gothic Works before signing as an amateur for Tottenham Hotspur in 1916. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, he played for Clapton Orient and Edmonton Ramblers. Dimmock served as a gunner in the First World War with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of ...

Professional career

Dimmock turned professional with

in May 1919, and his first match was at Lincoln City on 4 October. He holds a unique place in the history of Tottenham Hotspur by being the only player in the club's history to play 400 league games and score 100 league goals. He also remains (at 20 years 139 days) the youngest Tottenham player to appear in an

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 competit ...

Final. Undoubtedly his most memorable season was the 1920–21 season. Dimmock made his international debut against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

on 9 April 1921 at the age of 20 years and 125 days to become the youngest Spurs player (at that time) to play for England, and a fortnight later he appeared for Spurs in the FA Cup Final against

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

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium) ...

. Despite sustaining an injury early in the game, he scored the only goal of the game to secure a second FA Cup triumph for Tottenham. Surprisingly, he had to wait five years to gain his 2 further international caps, against Wales and Belgium in 1926. When he was released by Spurs in 1931 he had scored 100 goals in 400 league games, and 12 in 38 FA Cup matches. He subsequently played one season for Thames Association FC and two seasons for Clapton Orient.

Later years

In 1934, he played for Ashford Town (Kent) in the Kent League. In the same year he had a trial with

Tunbridge Wells Rangers Tunbridge Wells Football Club is a football club based in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. They are currently members of the . They play their home games at Culverden Stadium. The club is affiliated to the Kent County Football Association ...

before retiring from the game in 1936. He worked for a time in the road haulage industry but suffered from poor health later in life, eventually losing both legs. He died on 23 December 1972 at the

North Middlesex Hospital North Middlesex University Hospital, known locally as North Mid, is a district general hospital in Edmonton in the London Borough of Enfield. The hospital is managed by North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust. History The hospital was ...

, Edmonton, London.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur *

: 1920–21

References

External links

Hall of fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimmock, Jimmy 1900 births 1972 deaths Footballers from Edmonton, London Men's association football outside forwards English men's footballers England men's international footballers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Thames A.F.C. players Ashford United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Tunbridge Wells F.C. players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery soldiers Kent Football League (1894–1959) players