DIMMOCK, James Henry (1918-31)
Position: Outside left
Height: 5ft 10ins
Weight: 11st 6lbs
Born: Edmonton, North London, 5 December, 1900
Died: Enfield, Middlesex, 23 December, 1972
Signed from amateur May 1919
Transferred to Thames Aug 1931, released
Also played for: Park Avenue, Gothic Works, Edmonton Ramblers, Thames, Clapton Orient, Ashford Town, Tunbridge Wells Rangers, England
Spurs Record:
Debut: 4 October, 1919 v Lincoln City (FL) (a) drew 1-1
Appearances: League 400, FA Cup 38
Goals: League 100, FA Cup 12
Jimmy Dimmock’s name was written indelibly into our history for far more than one goal, albeit a goal that won the FA Cup. He was one of the finest players ever to don the famous Lilywhite shirt, a local lad who fulfilled every boy’s dream of starring for his local club, idolised by young and old alike.
Edmonton-born, Dimmock was a schoolboy star who played for several local clubs but was always closely watched by Spurs. He was first associated with the club during the First World War whilst still at school and signed as an amateur immediately he turned 18. As the Great War was still coming to an end and clubs were not running reserve sides, we allowed Dimmock to play for Clapton Orient. He was soon showing the talents that were to make him so special and within six months we had signed him to a professional contract to ward off interest from Orient and Arsenal.
He made his league debut in October 1919 when Jimmy Chipperfield was injured, returned to the reserves for a while but when called up a month later to stand in for Chipperfield again, performed so well that he made the outside-left berth his own and kept it for the next 12 years.
Untouched by too much coaching, Dimmock was a natural winger. He got the ball, faced his full-back, beat him and headed for the touchline before delivering a cross. It was simple and perfect for the style of football we played in the immediate post-war years, as we strolled to the Second Division title.
We did not find it quite so easy in the top division but for Dimmock the step up was no problem. He flourished against the best players in the country, showing that he was a player destined for the highest honours. The first of those came on 9 April, 1921, when he lined up for England against Scotland. A fortnight later on a rain-sodden Stamford Bridge he burst through the Wolves defence to score with a scorching left-foot drive from the edge of the area to bring the FA Cup back to the South for the first time since we had won it in 1901. Still only 20, Dimmock was a star.
A natural genius, stylish and elegant, he was blessed with every attribute a winger needed; speed, vision, two good feet and mesmeric dribbling skills. His balance was perfect. He could stop dead in his tracks, feint to go one way and then move the other as his marker tackled empty space. Inside or out, it mattered not. Outside he would make for the touchline before firing in a dangerous centre, inside he would head for goal before unleashing a vicious shot with either foot.
As we struggled, Dimmock became increasingly popular, the one player who could lift the fans as well as the team. It placed an extra burden on his slim shoulders but he revelled in the responsibility, increasing his goal output and becoming the first Spurs’ player to score 100 Football League goals.
As he entered his 30s, the buffetings Dimmock had taken from opponents who could only stop him by foul means began to take effect. He still had the skill but had lost the quick burst of speed that was so important. In modern times he might have moved into a midfield role but in the 1930s few players strayed far from the roles in which they had made their name. At the end of the 1930-31 season Dimmock was released. He was gone but never forgotten.