CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS - GENTLEMAN JIM: Jimmy Armfield 1935-2018
Although born in Manchester on 21 September 1935, James Christopher Armfield came to live at Blackpool at a young age. Some of his early football was played, after attending St Peter’s Sunday School, on the Coliseum Bus Station, with coats at one end and two bus bays at the other end for goals. He played football for two local Youth Club sides, St Peter’s and Highfield, and that after having played rugby as a schoolboy at Arnold School; he was also in the school cricket team, swimming and athletics teams. He was in those days an outside right who also represented the Blackpool Association of Boys’ Clubs, from where Blackpool signed him as an amateur prior to the 1952/53 season. He later said of his original outside right position, 'As I had been a wing-threequarter, it seemed only natural that I should play on the wing for St Peter’s. In fact it was as a winger that Blackpool signed me.'
He made his first appearances in the Blackpool ‘B’ team at outside right in January 1954 but it was while he was playing outside right for the ‘A’ team that he got a call to full back. The original defender was injured and Jimmy was pulled back to deputise and he became a full back thereafter. Well, mostly thereafter for on Easter Monday, 19 April 1954, he played full back in a youth match in the morning and made his Central League debut on the wing at outside right in the afternoon. 'He’s good, and he may be very good' was the prophetic press comment as Blackpool defeated Bury reserves 1-0.
Manager Joe Smith offered him a professional contract before he had played his first Central League game of the 1954/55 season. 'At 17, Blackpool cannot afford to lose a player of his quality,' said Smith, conscious that Armfield would be going away to complete his National Service. He duly signed as a professional on 4 September 1954 as Mr Smith, very prophetically, forecast England honours for the youngster. And following a 3-1 victory over Burnley reserves on 6 September 1954 Clifford Greenwood in the Gazette wrote, 'Young Jim Armfield played a full back game which I have not seen equalled in a tangerine jersey for a long time.'
He made his Football League debut on 27 December 1954 at Portsmouth when Blackpool lost 3-0. Of the unexpected call up for his debut he later remarked, 'Eddie Shimwell, our veteran full back, was injured, and on the Wednesday morning before Christmas, as I was having a long lie in – we were not training – I got a ‘phone call from manager Joe Smith. He said I would be playing against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. I was out of bed like a shot, and by lunch-time on my way to Portsmouth with the rest of the Blackpool team.' Of the game he recounted, 'That League debut at Fratton Park was not, I fear, a very conspicuous one for me. I found myself up against Gordon Dale, a very clever and strong winger with plenty of experience. He was far too good and we lost 0-3. Gordon really gave me the run-around, and I realised just how much I had to learn.' He also added, 'They were a very good team in those days. And they scored a goal in about the first two minutes – and I hadn’t touched the ball. We were three down after 15 minutes.'
He started the 1955/56 season in the Central League side but after six games at that level he was promoted to the League side and his long run in the first team began on 24 September 1955 when Eddie Shimwell was injured; Blackpool lost 2-0 to Manchester City. In addition to his duties with Blackpool, he was the first member of the King’s Own Royal Regiment to be selected for the Army representative side for many years when he was picked for a floodlight friendly at East Fife on 30 January 1956. He was then selected for the England Under-23 side against Scotland Under-23 at Hillsborough on 8 February 1956 after having played in only 22 League games but sadly laryngitis prevented him from playing. However representative honours soon came his way when he represented The Football League against The Irish League at Windsor Park, Belfast on 4 April 1956.
On demobilisation from the Army in September 1956 he immediately re joined Blackpool as a full time professional and from then on until retirement his name was one of the first on the team sheet, usually only missing through injury and international calls. His consistent performances down the right flank, for he could have said to have been the first of the now aptly named wingbacks (who among those who watched him, could ever forget his rampaging down that right wing?), brought him to the attention of the national selectors and he gained his first international cap when appearing for the England Under-23 side against Denmark Under-23s in Copenhagen on 26 September 1956.
He toured the United States of America, Australia and Hong Kong with Blackpool in the summer of 1958 when he reverted to his roots for one game. On 4 May 1958. Stan Matthews was injured in the first half against New South Wales and Jimmy replaced him and scored twice in the second half as Blackpool won 8-0!
Following Blackpool’s eighth place finish in the 1958/59 season when Jimmy, having missed the first eight games through injury but almost an ever-present thereafter, was voted Young Footballer of the Year. It was not surprising therefore to see him make his England debut at left back against Brazil in front of 151,000 spectators in Rio de Janeiro on 13 May 1959 when England lost 2-0. Of his international debut he later recalled, 'It was a great thrill, although I was playing out of position at left back, and we lost 2-0. Playing outside right for Brazil was Julinho, who later went to Italy, then returned to Brazil when they dropped the famous Garrincha to reinstate him. Yes, he was a great player.' He also remembered, 'The ironic thing is, when I played my first game for England in Rio, World Champions Brazil scored before I touched the ball. So on both debuts the ball went into our goal and I hadn’t touched it.' He added philosophically, 'That must be some kind of unique double!'
Never renowned for his goalscoring, he scored his first League goal for the club when he netted a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Leicester City on 14 September 1959 - and I remember it well as I was an Armfield fan and it so pleased me to see him score, especially as it gave Blackpool a precious point. It was the first of six goals he was to score for Blackpool, where he was made captain in January 1961, succeeding the late Jimmy Kelly in that post. As skipper he showed his dedication to the cause when he played centre forward for the League side in a 1 1 draw against Everton on 11 November 1961 when Ray Charnley had pulled a groin muscle in mid week training. Manager Ronnie Suart asked him to lead the attack and reportedly after only a moment’s hesitation he agreed. 'That’s what I call wonderful team spirit,' Mr Suart said afterwards and added, 'I appreciate it a lot and I know the Blackpool public will appreciate it too.'
By then he was firmly established in the England side and, after playing in all the country's four games of the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile in which England equalled their best ever finish to that time by reaching the quarter-finals, the world’s press voted him 'the best right back in the world'. Not surprisingly he was also voted 'the best right back in Europe' in 1962, the first of three successive years in which he won that award.
He received the only caution of his career when playing against Norwich City in an FA Cup replay on 6 March 1963 when Blackpool controversially lost the game 3-1 after what seemed to have been a legitimate goal had been disallowed. And something equally bizarre occurred when Blackpool visited Spain for the Costa Del Sol Tournament in August 1963. Someone approached Jimmy and asked if he wanted to sign for a continental side. On his return he commented on the situation, 'I don’t know the man’s nationality, or what club he represented, and I can’t say whether or not I’d be interested for no offer was made to me. He only asked me if I’d like to play for a foreign team. I made no comment and reported the matter to Mr Suart [Blackpool’s manager].' Ronnie Suart commented, 'The matter will be discussed at the Board meeting on Tuesday and a protest will probably be made to The Football Association. I feel very strongly about agents from other clubs making illegal approaches to our players.' In the event the Blackpool directors decided not to pursue the matter as the approach had been made anonymously.
Later in 1963 he sensationally asked for a transfer on 19 October. The 'request exploded like a bomb' on the club and it was immediately, and not surprisingly turned down, and Jimmy continued to give of his best for club and country. For the latter he was captain of England when The Football Association celebrated its centenary with a game against the Rest of the World at Wembley on 23 October with new manager Alf Ramsey at the helm. Jimmy was delighted when Terry Paine and Jimmy Greaves made it a memorable day by scoring the goals that won the game 2-1.
With Ramsey looking to build for the 1966 World Cup finals in England he began to try out different players and, following an injury to Jimmy, George Cohen was tried at right back in the side. And with Bobby Moore having taken over as England’s then youngest ever captain, Jimmy found it difficult to break back into the national side. He made the last of his 43 international appearances on 26 June 1966 against Finland in Helsinki when England won 3-0, although he was in the England World Cup squad for the 1966 finals in England but he did not play in any of the games. He had captained the England side in 15 of his internationals and he had made 12 appearances for The Football League and won nine England Under-23 caps, skippering the side on a couple of occasions. Somewhat belatedly, following an FA-led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all the 1966 World Cup winners’ squad, Jimmy was duly presented with his belated medal at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.
After the 1966 finals, Blackpool’s Mayor Councillor Robert Brierley JP gave a civic reception for Jimmy and Alan Ball in the Mayor’s parlour at the Town Hall on 5 August 1966. At the reception the Mayor paid tribute to the two players and presented them both with a set of gold cufflinks inscribed ‘World Cup 1966’. In doing so he said, 'We were all emotionally involved following you in the last few weeks. Everybody in Blackpool was thrilled when the final whistle went on Saturday and England had won the World Cup. We were very proud that we in Blackpool had a share in the triumph through two such fine footballers. Jimmy Armfield, as captain of Blackpool, has set a high standard in personality and sportsmanship.' Jimmy rather modestly replied with 'It is a great privilege to be so honoured by the town and something I have hitherto only dreamed of. As far as the World Cup is concerned, it was a disappointment to me that I didn’t get a game. But Blackpool Football Club’s colours were kept flying for both of us by Alan, particularly in the final. Blackpool are one of those clubs who get a lot of criticism but nevertheless always seem to manage to stay on the map. It is people like Alan that make that possible.' There was some consolation in 1966 in that he just missed being voted Footballer of the Year, losing out narrowly to his great friend Bobby Charlton. He did, however, win the Blackpool Player of the Year award.
He captained Blackpool to promotion to Division One after finishing runners-up in Division Two in the 1969/70 season and he commented, 'It’s great to win something at last.' This followed an earlier comment when he had said, 'I’ve been very successful on the international scene, but I would dearly love to win a club honour before I retire. My dream is to lead Blackpool back to the First Division and, perhaps, win a Second Division championship medal in the process.' He duly led them back to the top flight but unfortunately missed out on that championship medal.
It was a sad day when he made his final Blackpool appearance against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road on 1 May 1971 when Blackpool, already relegated to Division Two, drew 1-1. The players applauded him onto the field and the crowd of 29,857 gave him a resounding reception. He had played in a record 627 League and Cup games for the club, 569 in the League, 33 in the FA Cup, 25 in the League Cup in addition to playing in 44 Central League games.
After retiring from playing he took over as manager of Bolton Wanderers in May 1971, leading the club to promotion to the Second Division after winning the Third Division title in the 1972-73 Season. Then in October 1974 he took over at Leeds United and in 1975 he guided the club to the European Cup final, where they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich.
He left Leeds in July 1978 to concentrate on his media work and become an advisor to the Football Association and the Professional Footballers Association, appointments he held for many years.
In August 1978 he was, in his own words, 'keeping his hand in' doing some coaching at Bloomfield Road but he began to concentrate on work in the media, where he had started with a successful column in the Saturday Green football edition of the Evening Gazette while still playing for Blackpool. He produced regular match reports for the Daily Express and he was a popular regular on BBC Radio Five Live football commentaries and he marked his 30th anniversary with the BBC in 2010.
As a well-respected man of many talents, he received many honours on a variety of fronts. He was appointed President of the Blackpool Football Club Supporters’ Club, was awarded the OBE in June 2000, was granted the Freedom of Blackpool in 2003 and was awarded the CBE for his services to the community in the 2010 New Year’s honours list. In addition he was the recipient of the prestigious Contribution to League Football Award from The Football League in 2008, the same year as he received the PFA Merit Award at the 35th Annual Awards Dinner at London’s Grosvenor Hotel where he received three standing ovations as he accepted the award. His modest comment on receiving that award was 'I am very grateful for the award – and just grateful to be here.'
In March 2005 he became High Sheriff of Lancashire and was sworn in for the customary term of one year on 11 April 2005. In that capacity one of his roles was that he would welcome royalty to the county, a role with which he was not unfamiliar, for on 13 April 1955 he was in a special detachment of the King’s Own Royal Regiment stationed at Lancaster Castle that was on duty when the Queen visited prior to her appearance at the Royal Variety Show in Blackpool later that same evening.
In April 2006 he opened Blackpool Football Club’s Hall of Fame, of which he is himself a well-respected member, and the South Stand, which was opened on 20th March 2010, is named the ‘Jimmy Armfield Stand’ in his honour. Also
at Bloomfield Road a life-size statue was erected in his honour at the south west corner of the ground when the chairman of the Supporters’ Association, Glenn Bowley, said, 'It is fantastic and thoroughly deserved. Jimmy has become known because of his football career with Blackpool and England and he has given so much back to the community to which he so proudly belongs. The unveiling of this statue will recognise all the community work he does and all the organisations he is involved in. So many times you see him presenting someone with a prize or opening a new scheme. It’s wonderful.'
Jimmy, who made his debut as organist at St Peter’s Church, South Shore, in the season that he finished playing football, was also a lay canon of Blackburn Cathedral. Locally, he had attended St Peter’s Church since 1943 and he commented, 'I was a grass-roots Christian, as many were in my day. We all went to Sunday School and then to a youth club' and he added, with a cheeky smile, 'and that’s where the girls were.' He continued, 'We all grew up together as teenagers around the church. It has been a way of life. It’s been there since I can remember.'
Jimmy Armfield, often known, quite rightly as 'Gentleman Jim', passed away on 22 January 2018 after a lengthy fight against illness. He leaves wife Anne and sons Duncan and John.
On a personal note I was fortunate to have known Jimmy Armfield over a good number of years and two personal memories, many years apart, that portrayed the man have always stayed with me.
Firstly on Monday 5 January 1961 he walked into Collinson's Café on West Street, a place where many of the Blackpool footballers would go after training and at other times. My Mum was the manageress there at the time so, as a schoolboy, I would often go down after school and on that day, Jimmy came in and sat down with his coffee. Cheekily I went over to him and sat at his table and asked him what had gone wrong on the previous Saturday. Blackpool, then a First Division side, had played Second Division Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup third round and had, astonishingly with a full side (before the modern days of the FA Cup reserve sides), lost 6-2. 'What went wrong, Jimmy?', I asked and, even though he might have wanted to dismiss me for such a remark, he was ever the gentleman and very politely gave me an explanation of the game and how it went so badly.
Secondly I was privileged to be alongside Jimmy at the Blackpool Civic Trust Awards about three years ago. Jimmy was presenting the awards while I was the guest speaker with a topic of 'Blackpool Football Club' as the ceremony was held at Bloomfield Road. When it was my turn, I spoke on the history of the club and made particular reference to Jimmy and his achievements. Mischievously perhaps, I could not fail to mention Jimmy's one booking in those 627 appearances. I had remembered the game well and also the incidents that led to his booking. I related these much to Jimmy and the audience's amusement. When I had finished and returned to our table, Jimmy turned to me and relived the moments when he was booked. He still felt passionately about it for he told me that Bill Punton the winger that he had (allegedly) repeatedly brought down had conned the referee and that he, Jimmy, had told the official so - politely, of course. His passion for the game was still there to be seen.
Jimmy, Gentleman Jim, you were a great man and will be sadly missed by family, friends, colleagues and football fans everywhere, particularly those in Blackpool.
He made his first appearances in the Blackpool ‘B’ team at outside right in January 1954 but it was while he was playing outside right for the ‘A’ team that he got a call to full back. The original defender was injured and Jimmy was pulled back to deputise and he became a full back thereafter. Well, mostly thereafter for on Easter Monday, 19 April 1954, he played full back in a youth match in the morning and made his Central League debut on the wing at outside right in the afternoon. 'He’s good, and he may be very good' was the prophetic press comment as Blackpool defeated Bury reserves 1-0.
Manager Joe Smith offered him a professional contract before he had played his first Central League game of the 1954/55 season. 'At 17, Blackpool cannot afford to lose a player of his quality,' said Smith, conscious that Armfield would be going away to complete his National Service. He duly signed as a professional on 4 September 1954 as Mr Smith, very prophetically, forecast England honours for the youngster. And following a 3-1 victory over Burnley reserves on 6 September 1954 Clifford Greenwood in the Gazette wrote, 'Young Jim Armfield played a full back game which I have not seen equalled in a tangerine jersey for a long time.'
He made his Football League debut on 27 December 1954 at Portsmouth when Blackpool lost 3-0. Of the unexpected call up for his debut he later remarked, 'Eddie Shimwell, our veteran full back, was injured, and on the Wednesday morning before Christmas, as I was having a long lie in – we were not training – I got a ‘phone call from manager Joe Smith. He said I would be playing against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. I was out of bed like a shot, and by lunch-time on my way to Portsmouth with the rest of the Blackpool team.' Of the game he recounted, 'That League debut at Fratton Park was not, I fear, a very conspicuous one for me. I found myself up against Gordon Dale, a very clever and strong winger with plenty of experience. He was far too good and we lost 0-3. Gordon really gave me the run-around, and I realised just how much I had to learn.' He also added, 'They were a very good team in those days. And they scored a goal in about the first two minutes – and I hadn’t touched the ball. We were three down after 15 minutes.'
He started the 1955/56 season in the Central League side but after six games at that level he was promoted to the League side and his long run in the first team began on 24 September 1955 when Eddie Shimwell was injured; Blackpool lost 2-0 to Manchester City. In addition to his duties with Blackpool, he was the first member of the King’s Own Royal Regiment to be selected for the Army representative side for many years when he was picked for a floodlight friendly at East Fife on 30 January 1956. He was then selected for the England Under-23 side against Scotland Under-23 at Hillsborough on 8 February 1956 after having played in only 22 League games but sadly laryngitis prevented him from playing. However representative honours soon came his way when he represented The Football League against The Irish League at Windsor Park, Belfast on 4 April 1956.
On demobilisation from the Army in September 1956 he immediately re joined Blackpool as a full time professional and from then on until retirement his name was one of the first on the team sheet, usually only missing through injury and international calls. His consistent performances down the right flank, for he could have said to have been the first of the now aptly named wingbacks (who among those who watched him, could ever forget his rampaging down that right wing?), brought him to the attention of the national selectors and he gained his first international cap when appearing for the England Under-23 side against Denmark Under-23s in Copenhagen on 26 September 1956.
He toured the United States of America, Australia and Hong Kong with Blackpool in the summer of 1958 when he reverted to his roots for one game. On 4 May 1958. Stan Matthews was injured in the first half against New South Wales and Jimmy replaced him and scored twice in the second half as Blackpool won 8-0!
Following Blackpool’s eighth place finish in the 1958/59 season when Jimmy, having missed the first eight games through injury but almost an ever-present thereafter, was voted Young Footballer of the Year. It was not surprising therefore to see him make his England debut at left back against Brazil in front of 151,000 spectators in Rio de Janeiro on 13 May 1959 when England lost 2-0. Of his international debut he later recalled, 'It was a great thrill, although I was playing out of position at left back, and we lost 2-0. Playing outside right for Brazil was Julinho, who later went to Italy, then returned to Brazil when they dropped the famous Garrincha to reinstate him. Yes, he was a great player.' He also remembered, 'The ironic thing is, when I played my first game for England in Rio, World Champions Brazil scored before I touched the ball. So on both debuts the ball went into our goal and I hadn’t touched it.' He added philosophically, 'That must be some kind of unique double!'
Never renowned for his goalscoring, he scored his first League goal for the club when he netted a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Leicester City on 14 September 1959 - and I remember it well as I was an Armfield fan and it so pleased me to see him score, especially as it gave Blackpool a precious point. It was the first of six goals he was to score for Blackpool, where he was made captain in January 1961, succeeding the late Jimmy Kelly in that post. As skipper he showed his dedication to the cause when he played centre forward for the League side in a 1 1 draw against Everton on 11 November 1961 when Ray Charnley had pulled a groin muscle in mid week training. Manager Ronnie Suart asked him to lead the attack and reportedly after only a moment’s hesitation he agreed. 'That’s what I call wonderful team spirit,' Mr Suart said afterwards and added, 'I appreciate it a lot and I know the Blackpool public will appreciate it too.'
By then he was firmly established in the England side and, after playing in all the country's four games of the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile in which England equalled their best ever finish to that time by reaching the quarter-finals, the world’s press voted him 'the best right back in the world'. Not surprisingly he was also voted 'the best right back in Europe' in 1962, the first of three successive years in which he won that award.
He received the only caution of his career when playing against Norwich City in an FA Cup replay on 6 March 1963 when Blackpool controversially lost the game 3-1 after what seemed to have been a legitimate goal had been disallowed. And something equally bizarre occurred when Blackpool visited Spain for the Costa Del Sol Tournament in August 1963. Someone approached Jimmy and asked if he wanted to sign for a continental side. On his return he commented on the situation, 'I don’t know the man’s nationality, or what club he represented, and I can’t say whether or not I’d be interested for no offer was made to me. He only asked me if I’d like to play for a foreign team. I made no comment and reported the matter to Mr Suart [Blackpool’s manager].' Ronnie Suart commented, 'The matter will be discussed at the Board meeting on Tuesday and a protest will probably be made to The Football Association. I feel very strongly about agents from other clubs making illegal approaches to our players.' In the event the Blackpool directors decided not to pursue the matter as the approach had been made anonymously.
Later in 1963 he sensationally asked for a transfer on 19 October. The 'request exploded like a bomb' on the club and it was immediately, and not surprisingly turned down, and Jimmy continued to give of his best for club and country. For the latter he was captain of England when The Football Association celebrated its centenary with a game against the Rest of the World at Wembley on 23 October with new manager Alf Ramsey at the helm. Jimmy was delighted when Terry Paine and Jimmy Greaves made it a memorable day by scoring the goals that won the game 2-1.
With Ramsey looking to build for the 1966 World Cup finals in England he began to try out different players and, following an injury to Jimmy, George Cohen was tried at right back in the side. And with Bobby Moore having taken over as England’s then youngest ever captain, Jimmy found it difficult to break back into the national side. He made the last of his 43 international appearances on 26 June 1966 against Finland in Helsinki when England won 3-0, although he was in the England World Cup squad for the 1966 finals in England but he did not play in any of the games. He had captained the England side in 15 of his internationals and he had made 12 appearances for The Football League and won nine England Under-23 caps, skippering the side on a couple of occasions. Somewhat belatedly, following an FA-led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to all the 1966 World Cup winners’ squad, Jimmy was duly presented with his belated medal at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.
After the 1966 finals, Blackpool’s Mayor Councillor Robert Brierley JP gave a civic reception for Jimmy and Alan Ball in the Mayor’s parlour at the Town Hall on 5 August 1966. At the reception the Mayor paid tribute to the two players and presented them both with a set of gold cufflinks inscribed ‘World Cup 1966’. In doing so he said, 'We were all emotionally involved following you in the last few weeks. Everybody in Blackpool was thrilled when the final whistle went on Saturday and England had won the World Cup. We were very proud that we in Blackpool had a share in the triumph through two such fine footballers. Jimmy Armfield, as captain of Blackpool, has set a high standard in personality and sportsmanship.' Jimmy rather modestly replied with 'It is a great privilege to be so honoured by the town and something I have hitherto only dreamed of. As far as the World Cup is concerned, it was a disappointment to me that I didn’t get a game. But Blackpool Football Club’s colours were kept flying for both of us by Alan, particularly in the final. Blackpool are one of those clubs who get a lot of criticism but nevertheless always seem to manage to stay on the map. It is people like Alan that make that possible.' There was some consolation in 1966 in that he just missed being voted Footballer of the Year, losing out narrowly to his great friend Bobby Charlton. He did, however, win the Blackpool Player of the Year award.
He captained Blackpool to promotion to Division One after finishing runners-up in Division Two in the 1969/70 season and he commented, 'It’s great to win something at last.' This followed an earlier comment when he had said, 'I’ve been very successful on the international scene, but I would dearly love to win a club honour before I retire. My dream is to lead Blackpool back to the First Division and, perhaps, win a Second Division championship medal in the process.' He duly led them back to the top flight but unfortunately missed out on that championship medal.
It was a sad day when he made his final Blackpool appearance against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road on 1 May 1971 when Blackpool, already relegated to Division Two, drew 1-1. The players applauded him onto the field and the crowd of 29,857 gave him a resounding reception. He had played in a record 627 League and Cup games for the club, 569 in the League, 33 in the FA Cup, 25 in the League Cup in addition to playing in 44 Central League games.
After retiring from playing he took over as manager of Bolton Wanderers in May 1971, leading the club to promotion to the Second Division after winning the Third Division title in the 1972-73 Season. Then in October 1974 he took over at Leeds United and in 1975 he guided the club to the European Cup final, where they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich.
He left Leeds in July 1978 to concentrate on his media work and become an advisor to the Football Association and the Professional Footballers Association, appointments he held for many years.
In August 1978 he was, in his own words, 'keeping his hand in' doing some coaching at Bloomfield Road but he began to concentrate on work in the media, where he had started with a successful column in the Saturday Green football edition of the Evening Gazette while still playing for Blackpool. He produced regular match reports for the Daily Express and he was a popular regular on BBC Radio Five Live football commentaries and he marked his 30th anniversary with the BBC in 2010.
As a well-respected man of many talents, he received many honours on a variety of fronts. He was appointed President of the Blackpool Football Club Supporters’ Club, was awarded the OBE in June 2000, was granted the Freedom of Blackpool in 2003 and was awarded the CBE for his services to the community in the 2010 New Year’s honours list. In addition he was the recipient of the prestigious Contribution to League Football Award from The Football League in 2008, the same year as he received the PFA Merit Award at the 35th Annual Awards Dinner at London’s Grosvenor Hotel where he received three standing ovations as he accepted the award. His modest comment on receiving that award was 'I am very grateful for the award – and just grateful to be here.'
In March 2005 he became High Sheriff of Lancashire and was sworn in for the customary term of one year on 11 April 2005. In that capacity one of his roles was that he would welcome royalty to the county, a role with which he was not unfamiliar, for on 13 April 1955 he was in a special detachment of the King’s Own Royal Regiment stationed at Lancaster Castle that was on duty when the Queen visited prior to her appearance at the Royal Variety Show in Blackpool later that same evening.
In April 2006 he opened Blackpool Football Club’s Hall of Fame, of which he is himself a well-respected member, and the South Stand, which was opened on 20th March 2010, is named the ‘Jimmy Armfield Stand’ in his honour. Also
at Bloomfield Road a life-size statue was erected in his honour at the south west corner of the ground when the chairman of the Supporters’ Association, Glenn Bowley, said, 'It is fantastic and thoroughly deserved. Jimmy has become known because of his football career with Blackpool and England and he has given so much back to the community to which he so proudly belongs. The unveiling of this statue will recognise all the community work he does and all the organisations he is involved in. So many times you see him presenting someone with a prize or opening a new scheme. It’s wonderful.'
Jimmy, who made his debut as organist at St Peter’s Church, South Shore, in the season that he finished playing football, was also a lay canon of Blackburn Cathedral. Locally, he had attended St Peter’s Church since 1943 and he commented, 'I was a grass-roots Christian, as many were in my day. We all went to Sunday School and then to a youth club' and he added, with a cheeky smile, 'and that’s where the girls were.' He continued, 'We all grew up together as teenagers around the church. It has been a way of life. It’s been there since I can remember.'
Jimmy Armfield, often known, quite rightly as 'Gentleman Jim', passed away on 22 January 2018 after a lengthy fight against illness. He leaves wife Anne and sons Duncan and John.
On a personal note I was fortunate to have known Jimmy Armfield over a good number of years and two personal memories, many years apart, that portrayed the man have always stayed with me.
Firstly on Monday 5 January 1961 he walked into Collinson's Café on West Street, a place where many of the Blackpool footballers would go after training and at other times. My Mum was the manageress there at the time so, as a schoolboy, I would often go down after school and on that day, Jimmy came in and sat down with his coffee. Cheekily I went over to him and sat at his table and asked him what had gone wrong on the previous Saturday. Blackpool, then a First Division side, had played Second Division Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup third round and had, astonishingly with a full side (before the modern days of the FA Cup reserve sides), lost 6-2. 'What went wrong, Jimmy?', I asked and, even though he might have wanted to dismiss me for such a remark, he was ever the gentleman and very politely gave me an explanation of the game and how it went so badly.
Secondly I was privileged to be alongside Jimmy at the Blackpool Civic Trust Awards about three years ago. Jimmy was presenting the awards while I was the guest speaker with a topic of 'Blackpool Football Club' as the ceremony was held at Bloomfield Road. When it was my turn, I spoke on the history of the club and made particular reference to Jimmy and his achievements. Mischievously perhaps, I could not fail to mention Jimmy's one booking in those 627 appearances. I had remembered the game well and also the incidents that led to his booking. I related these much to Jimmy and the audience's amusement. When I had finished and returned to our table, Jimmy turned to me and relived the moments when he was booked. He still felt passionately about it for he told me that Bill Punton the winger that he had (allegedly) repeatedly brought down had conned the referee and that he, Jimmy, had told the official so - politely, of course. His passion for the game was still there to be seen.
Jimmy, Gentleman Jim, you were a great man and will be sadly missed by family, friends, colleagues and football fans everywhere, particularly those in Blackpool.
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