Levy Thorpe (18 November 1889 – 1935) was an English professional

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

wing 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. ...

. He made 98 appearances for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, all of which were in consecutive games. 92 of these were 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 ...

; the other six were in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Career

Thorpe made his debut for

late in the 1910–11 campaign, in a 2–0 victory against

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English f ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

on 29 March 1911. He went on to appear in their six remaining League games, beginning a long run of consecutive appearances for the club. The following season, 1911–12, he was an ever-present, appearing in the number-4 jersey in all of Blackpool's 42 League and

games. He also scored his first and only goal for the club. It came in a 2–0 victory over

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

at Bloomfield Road on 23 March 1912. The ever-present record was preserved the following 1912–13 season, at the end of which he had made 89 consecutive appearances for ''the Tangerines''. In 1913–14, Thorpe appeared in the first 9 League games, continuing his appearance streak to 98 games, before being sold to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

rivals

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. However, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he returned to Blackpool as a guest player.

Personal life

Thorpe served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Levi 1889 births 1935 deaths Footballers from Seaham English men's footballers Blackpool F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Blackpool F.C. wartime guest players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Loyal Regiment soldiers Men's association football wing halves Military personnel from County Durham