Jimmy Dickinson
Encyclopedia
James William 'Jimmy' Dickinson (25 April 1925 – 8 November 1982) was an English
football player.
Dickinson holds the record for number of league appearances for Portsmouth
(764). Only Swindon Town
's John Trollope
(770) has made more appearances for a single club.
He signed for Portsmouth
as a trainee and made his debut in 1946 against Blackburn Rovers
Settling into the side quickly at either wing-half or left-half, he was part of the team that won successive league championships in 1948–49 and 1949–50. His performances earned him a call-up to the England national football team
. He went on to win 48 caps for England, making him Portsmouth's most capped English player of all time. During his record 845 club appearances for Pompey and his 48 England caps he was never once booked or sent off, earning him the nickname Gentleman Jim.
Awarded the MBE
in 1964, he played his last match for Pompey a year later, helping Pompey to a 1–1 end-of-season draw at Northampton Town
that secured safety from relegation. And when he retired from playing, his association with the club continued. He served Pompey as public relations officer and then secretary before accepting the position of manager in May 1977. Relegation from the Third Division
was avoided, but the next year Pompey dropped down a league.
After three heart attacks
, Dickinson died aged 57 in 1982. The famous 'Pompey Chimes' rang hauntingly around St Mary's Church in Fratton
at a packed memorial service for the much-loved legend.
In 1998 he was included on the list of 100 Legends
produced to celebrate the centenary of the Football League.
Dickinson's image can be seen in the seating in the Fratton End stand in Fratton Park
.
In his home town of Alton there is a pub named The Gentleman Jim and Dickinson Road in Portsmouth
was named in his honour.
|1946-47
||rowspan="19"|Portsmouth
||rowspan="13"|First Division
||40||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||42||0
|-
|1947-48
||42||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||44||0
|-
|1948-49
||41||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||46||0
|-
|1949-50
||40||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||45||0
|-
|1950-51
||41||2||1||0||colspan="2"|-||42||2
|-
|1951-52
||40||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||44||0
|-
|1952-53
||40||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||42||1
|-
|1953-54
||40||1||7||0||colspan="2"|-||47||1
|-
|1954-55
||25||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||25||0
|-
|1955-56
||39||1||2||1||colspan="2"|-||41||2
|-
|1956-57
||42||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||44||0
|-
|1957-58
||42||2||2||0||colspan="2"|-||44||2
|-
|1958-59
||39||2||4||0||colspan="2"|-||43||2
|-
|1959-60
||rowspan="2"|Second Division
||42||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||43||0
|-
|1960-61
||40||0||1||0||4||0||45||0
|-
|1961-62
||Third Division
||46||0||1||0||4||0||51||0
|-
|1962-63
||rowspan="3"|Second Division
||42||0||5||0||3||0||50||0
|-
|1963-64
||42||0||2||0||1||0||45||0
|-
|1964-65
||41||0||2||0||2||0||45||0
764||9||50||1||14||0||828||10
764||9||50||1||14||0||828||10
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...
football player.
Dickinson holds the record for number of league appearances for 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...
(764). Only Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
's John Trollope
John Trollope (footballer)
Norman John Trollope MBE is a former footballer, manager and coach who served Swindon Town for twenty years.A Swindon Town legend, Trollope holds the record for the number of league appearances made for one club - turning out for the Town in 770 games between 1960 and 1980, an achievement which...
(770) has made more appearances for a single club.
He signed for 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...
as a trainee and made his debut in 1946 against Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
Settling into the side quickly at either wing-half or left-half, he was part of the team that won successive league championships in 1948–49 and 1949–50. His performances earned him a call-up to the England national football team
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...
. He went on to win 48 caps for England, making him Portsmouth's most capped English player of all time. During his record 845 club appearances for Pompey and his 48 England caps he was never once booked or sent off, earning him the nickname Gentleman Jim.
Awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1964, he played his last match for Pompey a year later, helping Pompey to a 1–1 end-of-season draw at Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
that secured safety from relegation. And when he retired from playing, his association with the club continued. He served Pompey as public relations officer and then secretary before accepting the position of manager in May 1977. Relegation from the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
was avoided, but the next year Pompey dropped down a league.
After three heart attacks
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, Dickinson died aged 57 in 1982. The famous 'Pompey Chimes' rang hauntingly around St Mary's Church in Fratton
Fratton, Portsmouth
Fratton is a residential and formerly industrial area of Portsmouth, Hampshire. It consists of mostly Victorian terraced houses, and is typical of the residential areas in the city...
at a packed memorial service for the much-loved legend.
In 1998 he was included on the list of 100 Legends
Football League 100 Legends
The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Premier season of League football...
produced to celebrate the centenary of the Football League.
Dickinson's image can be seen in the seating in the Fratton End stand in Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...
.
In his home town of Alton there is a pub named The Gentleman Jim and Dickinson Road in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
was named in his honour.
Career statistics
|-|1946-47
The Football League 1946-47
-Overview:The 1946–1947 season was the 48th completed season of The Football League.This season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign.-Final league tables:...
||rowspan="19"|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...
||rowspan="13"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||40||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||42||0
|-
|1947-48
The Football League 1947-48
-Overview:The 1947–1948 season was the 49th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables:The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||42||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||44||0
|-
|1948-49
The Football League 1948-49
-Overview:The 1948–1949 season was the 50th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables:The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||41||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||46||0
|-
|1949-50
The Football League 1949-50
-Overview:The 1949–1950 season was the 51st completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables:The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||40||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||45||0
|-
|1950-51
The Football League 1950-51
-Overview:The 1950–1951 season was the 52nd completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables:The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||41||2||1||0||colspan="2"|-||42||2
|-
|1951-52
The Football League 1951-52
-Overview:The 1951–1952 season was the 53rd completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||40||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||44||0
|-
|1952-53
The Football League 1952-53
-Overview:The 1952–1953 season was the 54th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||40||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||42||1
|-
|1953-54
The Football League 1953-54
-Overview:The 1953–1954 season was the 55th completed season of The Football League, which ran from August 1953 until April 1954.-Final league tables :...
||40||1||7||0||colspan="2"|-||47||1
|-
|1954-55
The Football League 1954-55
-Overview:The 1954–1955 season was the 56th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||25||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||25||0
|-
|1955-56
The Football League 1955-56
-Overview:The 1955–1956 season was the 57th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||39||1||2||1||colspan="2"|-||41||2
|-
|1956-57
The Football League 1956-57
-Overview:The 1956–1957 season was the 58th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||42||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||44||0
|-
|1957-58
The Football League 1957-58
-Overview:The 1957–1958 season was the 59th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||42||2||2||0||colspan="2"|-||44||2
|-
|1958-59
The Football League 1958-59
-Overview:The 1958–1959 season was the 60th completed season of The Football League.This season saw the introduction of the Fourth Division.-Final league tables :...
||39||2||4||0||colspan="2"|-||43||2
|-
|1959-60
The Football League 1959-60
-Overview:The 1959–1960 season was the 61st completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||rowspan="2"|Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||42||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||43||0
|-
|1960-61
The Football League 1960-61
-Overview:The 1960–1961 season was the 62nd completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||40||0||1||0||4||0||45||0
|-
|1961-62
The Football League 1961-62
-Overview:The 1961–1962 season was the 63rd completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
||46||0||1||0||4||0||51||0
|-
|1962-63
The Football League 1962-63
-Overview:The 1962–1963 season was the 64th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||rowspan="3"|Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||42||0||5||0||3||0||50||0
|-
|1963-64
The Football League 1963-64
-Overview:The 1963–1964 season was the 64th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||42||0||2||0||1||0||45||0
|-
|1964-65
The Football League 1964-65
-Overview:The 1964–1965 season was the 65th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||41||0||2||0||2||0||45||0
764||9||50||1||14||0||828||10
764||9||50||1||14||0||828||10
External links
- Jimmy Dickinson, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database
- Dickinson's image in Fratton Park
