OBITUARY - TED DITCHBURN
OBITUARY - TED DITCHBURN

Our former goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn passed away on Boxing Day, aged 84.

Our former goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn passed away on Boxing Day, aged 84.

Our former goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn passed away on Boxing Day, aged 84.

He held the club record of 418 league appearances from 1957, when he overtook Jimmy Dimmock's mark of 400, until 1975, when he was overtaken by another legendary goalkeeper Pat Jennings.

A model of consistency, he progressed through our pre-war nursery team at Northfleet to gain club and international honours.

Ted was ever-present in our glory years of 1949-50-51, gaining First and Second Division Championship winning medals. Indeed, he holds the club record of 247 consecutive league appearances set between April, 1948 and March, 1954. His senior tally was 418 league outings, 34 in the FA Cup plus 53 wartime matches.

Individual honours during his 22 years on our books included six Full caps for England  spanning eight years - two wartime internationals, two 'B' caps, plus representative honours for the Football League XI, FA XI and Football Combination XI.

He served in the RAF during the war, toured the Far East with the Tommy Walker XI, and played as a guest for Dartford, Birmingham & Aberdeen.

Born at Gillingham on October 24, 1921, Edwin George Ditchburn was the second of three boys. The family soon moved to Northfleet where his father, employed in a local cement works, was also well known as a heavy weight boxer. Ted had the opportunity to follow his father into the ring but decided to concentrate on his football, gaining representative honours for Northfleet and Kent Schools prior to an England Schoolboys trial.

On leaving school, Ted worked for six months at Kentcraft Paper Mills, Northfleet and turned out for the Northfleet Paper Mills team. He featured for the Whites against the Reds in a colts trial match at Northfleet during August, 1937, having been spotted by chief scout Ben Ives, and joined our groundstaff.

Signed as an amateur on June 8, 1938, Ted spent season 1938-39 helping Northfleet United to the Kent League Division One title. He also played in four games for our ‘A’ team, making his debut in a 4-2 win versus Three Counties Hospital on October 12. Six weeks later, on November 24, he played for our reserve team in a 5-2 victory against Cambridge University and made his first appearance at White Hart Lane on December 12 when Northfleet United faced a West Ham United XI.

Assigned to our professional staff on May 8, 1939, at wages of £3 per week, Ted featured in a 10-0 win over Pinner, our ‘A’ team’s only fixture of 1939-40 before war was declared. By the end of the campaign, he had made the first two of his 505 senior appearances in our colours. On May 25, 1940 Chelsea were defeated 3-2 in his first competitive match for us. Two days later we drew 2-2 with Norwich City in the Football League South.

Having guested for Dartford, Ted joined the RAF as a physical training instructor. He played for Aberdeen whilst based locally and by the end of season 1943-44 had featured for the RAF, Combined Services and played two wartime internationals for England, against Scotland and Wales. On being posted to the Far East for a two year stint, Ted played for the Tommy Walker XI in India, Burma and Ceylon. On his return he made a single guest appearance for Birmingham, during season 1945-46.

Making his official Football League debut against Birmingham City on August 31, 1946, Ted went on to miss just five games out of a possible 381 until November, 1954.

By 1947-48 his wages had risen to £12 per week and he was a regular selection for the Football League XI, playing six times in all. Ted also faced the RAF twice as part of an FA XI.

His Full international debut, against Switzerland at Highbury, was delayed for 24 hours due to fog. When eventually played on December 2, 1948, Ted had little to do as England ran out 6-0 winners. He faced Sweden later that season, and travelled to Brazil as a member of the 1950 World Cup squad, but was not called upon to play again until facing the USA during June, 1953.

By then he had gained two ‘B’ caps, against the Netherlands during May, 1949 and Switzerland during January, 1950, and played for the Football Combination XI against Diable Rouge and the Paris League.

During March, 1951 Ted surpassed the previous club record of 122 consecutive league appearances, set by Cyril Spiers during 1931, and went on to take his tally to 269 games, including 22 in the FA Cup. He is currently the only Spur to have made in excess of 200 consecutive league and cup appearances.

Having regained form and fitness, Ted earned a recall to the international scene during November, 1956, doubling his cap count by facing Wales, Yugoslavia and Denmark during a three week spell.

The fixture at Chelsea on December 21, 1957 saw Ted overtake Jimmy Dimmock’s club record of 400 league appearances. His next visit there proved to be his last.

His long tenure between the posts came to an end after a dislocated finger injury suffered at Chelsea on August 27, 1958. Ted remained on our books for the rest of the season, playing in the reserve and ‘A’ teams.

On being released during July, 1959 he joined Southern League club Romford as player/manager, missing just two games during 1959-60 as he helped them gain promotion to the Premier Division. He relinquished managerial duties during March, 1962 but continued as a player until 1965, making 147 league appearances for Romford. Ted finished his playing career with a short stint at Brentwood Town later that year.

Away from football, Ted was a keen cricketer and tennis player. During April, 1949 he opened a shop at Northumberland Park selling theatre and coach tickets as well as exclusive action photos of Spurs players. By 1953 the business had developed into a grocery store. Other businesses included a toy shop and an electrical retailers at Potters Bar. He ran a large sports outfitters in Romford for many years until retiring.

In recent years Ted lived in retirement at Wickham Market, Suffolk. He is survived by Joan, his wife of 62 years, and one son, Robin.

We send our condolences to his family and friends at this sad time.