James Radcliffe Greenhalgh (25 August 1923 – 31 August 2013) was an English football player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He played as a

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, and made nearly 300 appearances 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–1 ...

and Gillingham. As a manager, he took charge of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

from 1966 to 1968, and had a lengthy career in

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

and

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

Life and career

James Radcliffe Greenhalgh was born on 25 August 1923 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, where he grew up in the Moston district and worked as a butcher's assistant. He played football for Newton Heath Loco before signing for

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

club

ahead of the first postwar Football League season. He was reported to have chosen Hull because wartime bomb damage meant there was no housing available for him and his wife local to rival suitors

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 193 ...

and Everton. He went straight into the League side, occupying four different positions in the first five matches, before settling at

right half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

and missing only one match all season. He was used less in 1947–48, but re-established himself in the side the following season, missing only one match as Hull won the Third Division North title and reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup, in which they lost 1–0 to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. He began as a regular in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, but gradually dropped out of contention, and in November 1950, he joined another second-tier club,

, for a £13,000 fee. He was ever-present for his first two years with Bury, and then missed a few weeks with injury, but at the start of the 1953–54 season, found his place under threat from Don May and

Tommy Daniel Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 f ...

and was transfer-listed at his own request. He did not leave, and came back into the side halfway through the season, but appeared only once in 1954–55. Interest from

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

came to nothing, despite the nominal fee asked, and Greenhalgh left both Bury and the Football League in 1956 to spend a season with

of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

. In July 1956, Greenhalgh joined

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

club Gillingham as

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

, and continued in post for two-and-a-half years, although he played only reserve-team football after his first season. Greenhalgh was appointed trainer-coach of Second Division club Lincoln City in January 1959, and took up the same role with

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

in June 1962. Under manager

Joe Harvey Joseph Harvey (11 June 1918 – 24 February 1989) was an English football player and later manager. He spent much of his career at Newcastle United; he was the club's longest serving captain, manager, and, as of 2022, the last to win a major ...

, Greenhalgh contributed to the team's Second Division title in 1965 and their first season back in the top flight, before becoming manager of

in July 1966, after

Lol Morgan Laurence Morgan (5 May 1931 – January 2022) was an English professional association football, footballer, and manager (association football), manager who was active during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He was born in Rotherham on 5 May 1931, an ...

, who had quit after leading the team to their first promotion for forty years. Greenhalgh failed to keep the team in the Third Division, and controversially released appearance record-holder

Ron Greener Ronald Greener (31 January 1934 – 19 October 2015) was an English footballer, who played as a centre half. Born in Easington, County Durham, he played his entire career in his native North-East. He started his career with Newcastle United, bef ...

on a free transferthe men became friends in later life, and according to Greener, interviewed in 2000, "He was an awful bloody manager, made a right mess of it and now he'll admit as much". At the end of February 1968, with the team bottom of the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

, Greenhalgh left "by mutual agreement". It would be his only managerial appointment. His daughter said later that "he loved playing and someone once wrote that he developed into a well-respected coach during the later stages of his football career", but that "being a manager was sat behind a desk in those days." Within days, he was offered and accepted the post of chief coach at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He remained on the club's staff until 1979, and joined

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

chief scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...

on 1 January 1980. In 1990, he was attached to the coaching staff of the

Dutch Football Association The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women ...

, and later that year he was used by

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

manager

John Rudge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

as a scout in the north-east of England. Greenhalgh was married to Flo; they had two children, Linda and James. Towards the end of his life he was a resident of a care home in Darlington, where he died on 31 August 2013 at the age of 90.

Career statistics

As a player

As a manager

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenhalgh, Jimmy 1923 births 2013 deaths Footballers from Manchester English footballers Association football wing halves Hull City A.F.C. players Bury F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Darlington F.C. managers English Football League managers Association football coaches Association football scouts Gillingham F.C. non-playing staff Lincoln City F.C. non-playing staff Newcastle United F.C. non-playing staff Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff Sunderland A.F.C. non-playing staff Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff