Jimmy Armfield facts for kids
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Jimmy Armfield in 2012
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | James Christopher Armfield | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 21 September 1935 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Denton, Lancashire, England | |||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 22 January 2018 (aged 82) | |||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Blackpool, Lancashire, England | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Right back | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1954–1971 | Blackpool | 569 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1956–1959 | England U23 | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1959–1966 | England | 43 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1974 | Bolton Wanderers | |||||||||||||||
| 1974–1978 | Leeds United | |||||||||||||||
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Honours
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James Christopher Armfield (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was a famous English football player and manager. He later worked as a football expert for BBC Radio 5 Live. Jimmy played his entire professional career for Blackpool, usually as a right back.
From 1954 to 1971, he played 627 games for Blackpool and scored six goals. He was also the club's captain for ten years. Armfield played 43 times for the England national team between 1959 and 1966, leading them as captain in 15 games. He was part of England's team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. After he stopped playing, Armfield became a manager for Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United.
Contents
Playing Career at Blackpool
Jimmy Armfield was born in Denton, England. His family moved to Blackpool during the Second World War. A manager named Joe Smith noticed Jimmy playing in a practice match. Jimmy was playing on the left wing and scored all four goals in a 4–1 win.
Impressed, Joe Smith offered him a trial. After finishing school, Jimmy joined Blackpool when he was 17. He played his first game for Blackpool on 27 December 1954, against Portsmouth.
In the 1955–56 season, Blackpool finished second in the First Division. This was the club's highest-ever league position. In 1959, Jimmy Armfield was voted Young Player of the Year. He also won the Sports Outlook Northern Sports Star of the year trophy in 1961.
In 1966, Jimmy was almost named Footballer of the Year, but Bobby Charlton won the award. Jimmy was named Blackpool's Player of the Year instead. Blackpool did not win many trophies during his 17 years there. However, they were promoted to the First Division in the 1969–70 season.
On 2 September 1970, Jimmy had a special match to celebrate his career, which was also his 35th birthday. Thousands of fans came to honor him. He played his last game for Blackpool on 1 May 1971, against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road. Over 30,000 fans watched this game, which was Blackpool's last in the top league for nearly 40 years.
Playing for England
Jimmy Armfield played 43 games for England between 1959 and 1966. He was the captain of his country 15 times. His first international game was on 13 May 1959, against Brazil in front of over 120,000 fans in Brazil.
He played in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile. There, he was called "the best right-back in the world." He was also voted "best right-back in Europe" from 1962 to 1964. However, an injury kept him out of the England team for a while. Fulham's George Cohen then became England's first-choice right-back.
Jimmy was part of the winning squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup. But an injury before the tournament meant he did not play in any matches. In the 1966 World Cup final, only the 11 players on the field received medals. Later, after a campaign by The Football Association, FIFA decided to give medals to all squad members. Jimmy received his medal on 10 June 2009, from Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
Management Career
After he stopped playing, Jimmy Armfield became a football manager.
Managing Bolton Wanderers
In 1971, Jimmy became the manager of Bolton Wanderers. He led them to promotion to the Second Division in the 1972–73 season. They won the Third Division championship that year.
Managing Leeds United
On 4 October 1974, Jimmy Armfield took over as manager of Leeds United. He replaced Brian Clough. Jimmy led Leeds to the European Cup Final in the 1974–75 season. They lost 2–0 to Bayern Munich in a controversial match.
Jimmy was in charge of rebuilding Leeds United's team. He brought in new players like Tony Currie and Brian Flynn. Under his leadership, Leeds always finished in the top ten of the league. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1976–77 and the League Cup in 1977–78. He left Leeds United in July 1978.
After Management
Leeds United was Jimmy Armfield's last job as a manager. He then started working in the media. He was a journalist for the Daily Express from 1979 to 1991. Later, he became well-known as a match commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live. In 2009, he celebrated 30 years with the BBC.
He also worked as a consultant for the Football Association. In this role, he helped choose Terry Venables as England coach in 1994 and Glenn Hoddle two years later. In 2000, he received an OBE award for his contributions to football. In 2004, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire. He also served as High Sheriff of Lancashire from 2005 to 2006.
Although born in Denton, Jimmy lived mostly in Blackpool. In 2003, he was given the freedom of the resort. In 2004, he released his autobiography, Right Back to the Beginning: The Autobiography. A review called it "Authoritative and engaging, but at the same time warm-hearted and kind."
On 23 September 2005, Blackpool held a special event for him after his 70th birthday. A tangerine flag was flown from the town hall in his honor. In July 2007, he received an Honorary Fellowship from Myerscough College. This was to recognize his important role in developing the attacking full-back position in football.
On 2 March 2008, Jimmy Armfield received the Outstanding Contribution award at the Football League Awards. On 18 September 2008, he was added to the football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum in Preston. He joined other Blackpool legends like Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen.
In July 2009, he received a lifetime-achievement award from Tameside Council in Denton, where he was born. Jimmy Armfield was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 New Year's Honours list for his services to the community in Lancashire.
Jimmy's son, John, also played football, but not professionally. He later became a teacher. On 5 May 2012, Jimmy Armfield presented the trophy to the winning captain at the 2012 FA Cup Final. In 2016, he was awarded Global Football Ambassador at the Football Business Awards.
Health and Death
On 11 May 2007, Jimmy Armfield announced that he was having chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his throat. He remained positive about his future, and the cancer was successfully treated. However, the cancer returned in November 2016.
Jimmy Armfield passed away from the disease on 22 January 2018, in Blackpool, at the age of 82.
Recognition and Legacy
Jimmy Armfield was inducted into Blackpool's Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road in April 2006. Fans voted for their all-time heroes, and Jimmy was chosen for the 1960s.
The South Stand at Bloomfield Road, which opened on 20 March 2010, is named the "Jimmy Armfield South Stand." His name, ARMFIELD, is spelled out in white seats among the tangerine ones. A nine-foot-tall statue of Jimmy Armfield, costing £100,000, was placed outside the main entrance of the stadium. It was unveiled on 1 May 2011.
On 2 September 2019, The FA named the lecture theatre at St. George's Park the "Jimmy Armfield Lecture Theatre" in his honor.
Honours
Player
England
Manager
Bolton Wanderers
- Football League Third Division champion: 1972–73
Leeds United
- European Cup runners-up: 1974–75
See also
In Spanish: Jimmy Armfield para niños
- List of one-club men
