James Alfred Standen is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

, playing as goalkeeper

Goalkeeper (football)

In association football, the goalkeeper occupies a position that represents the last line of defence between the opponent's offence and his own team's goal. The primary role of the goalkeeper is to defend his team's goal and prevent the opposition from scoring a goal...

, and cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er.

Standen started his footballing career at Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, joining the side in 1953. His appearances at Arsenal were limited, first by National Service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 and then by the presence of Wales

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

 international Jack Kelsey

Jack Kelsey

Alfred John "Jack" Kelsey was a Welsh international football goalkeeper, who also played for Arsenal. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers to play for Wales.- Early career :...

. He finally made his debut for Arsenal against Burnley

Burnley F.C.

Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

 on December 7, 1957, and deputised for Kelsey when he was injured in the 1958–59

1958-59 in English football

The 1958–59 season was the 79th season of competitive football in England.-Diary of the season:August 1958: The Football League season begins with the new national Third and Fourth divisions that have been created from the old Third Division North and Third Division South.September 1958: Manchester...

 season; upon Kelsey's return the two goalkeepers shared the spot for 1959–60

1959-60 in English football

The 1959–60 season was the 80th season of competitive football in England.-Diary of the season:17 November 1959: Phil Taylor resigns as manager of Liverpool after three years as manager, with all three of his seasons in charge ending with a narrow failure to win promotion to the First...

. However, Kelsey regained the number one jersey outright at the start of 1960–61

1960-61 in English football

The 1960–61 season was the 81st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:This season was a historic one for domestic football in England, as Tottenham Hotspur F.C. became the first club in the twentieth century to "do the Double" by winning both the League and the FA Cup competitions...

 and Standen left Arsenal for Luton Town

Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

 in October 1960. He made 38 appearances for Arsenal in all.

At Luton, Standen was forced to understudy again, this time for England's

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 Ron Baynham. Standen joined east London club, West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

 as an emergency signing after their regular keeper Lawrie Leslie

Lawrie Leslie

Lawrence "Lawrie" Grant Leslie is a retired Scottish association football player who played as a goalkeeper.-Career:Leslie began playing football with Hawkhill Amateurs. In the early 1950s, he turned semi-pro and joined Newtongrange Star...

 suffered a broken leg in 1962. He became a big hit at Upton Park

Boleyn Ground

The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...

 and went on to make 179 league and 57 cup appearances for the club, winning the 1963–64

1963-64 in English football

The 1963–1964 season was the 84th season of competitive football in England, from August 1963 to May 1964:-Overview:* Liverpool won the League Championship.* West Ham United won the FA Cup.* Leicester City won the League Cup.-Diary of the season:...

 FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 and the 1964–65

1964-65 in English football

The 1964–65 season was the 85th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* After a three-way tussle for the League title between Manchester United, Leeds United and Chelsea, Manchester United came out on top and were crowned champions....

 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...

 with them.

After losing his place after the arrival of Bobby Ferguson in 1967, Standen moved to the Detroit Cougars

Detroit Cougars (soccer)

The Detroit Cougars were a soccer team based in Detroit, Michigan, which played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Detroit club consisted of players from Glentoran F.C...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He returned to England with Millwall

Millwall F.C.

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...

 for the 1969–70

1969-70 in English football

The 1969–70 season was the 90th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Everton won their seventh title, finishing nine points clear of Leeds United with Chelsea in third and newly promoted Derby County in fourth...

 season, playing eight games for the South London

South London

South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

 club before signing a two year contract with Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

. After 13 games for Pompey, he retired from football.

As a cricketer, Standen was primarily a right-arm medium pace bowler. He won a Championship

County Championship

The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...

 medal with Worcestershire

Worcestershire County Cricket Club

Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...

 in 1964, heading their Championship bowling averages with 52 wickets at 14.42. The following season the county won the title again, but he played in only one match. In all he took 313 first-class

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

wickets between 1959 and 1970 at an average of 25.34.

External links

• Jim Standen at westhamstats.info
• Cricinfo profile