Levi James Woolf (27 January 1916 – 27 January 2003) was a South African professional footballer who played one match in the

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 ...

for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1937.

Football career

Woolf was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa but was determined to become a professional footballer in England. In September 1937, he travelled to Britain on board the Union-Castle

liner Liner or LINER may refer to: Line drawing * Eye liner, a type of makeup * Marker pen, a porous-tip pen with its own ink source * Multiple lining tool used in engraving * A sable brush used by coach painters Linings * Acoustic liner, a no ...

, ''

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

''; a steward on the liner heard of Woolf's intentions and sent a telegram to the manager of

Southampton Football Club Southampton Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The club competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Their home ground since 2001 has been St M ...

, Tom Parker. Parker arranged for Woolf to be met after he disembarked at

Southampton Docks The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. After the Port of Felixstowe, ...

and he was given a trial. He was signed by the club after the trial match and was soon playing regularly at

inside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

in the reserves. On 11 December 1937, he made his first-team debut when he took the place of Ray Parkin at inside-right for 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 ...

match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, with Parkin moving to

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

in place of Benny Gaughran who had recently been sold to

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 ...

. Although the match was won 2–1, with Parkin scoring both Saints' goals, Woolf was not a great success and he returned to the reserves. In the summer of 1938, he joined

Guildford City Guildford City Football Club (formerly Guildford United and AFC Guildford) is a football club based in Guildford, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1921, folded in 1974 and was reformed in 1996. Guildford City play in the . History ...

of the Southern League. At the end of his first season at Guildford, they finished as Southern League runners-up.

Later career

During the Second World War, Woolf enlisted in the Army and served in Burma. After the war, he returned to South Africa.

References

External links

Career details
on 11v11.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Woolf, Jimmy 1916 births 2003 deaths Soccer players from Johannesburg South African men's soccer players Southampton F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders Southern Football League players 20th-century South African sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England