Jack Richardson Chisholm (9 October 1924 – 24 August 1977) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Known for his leadership and physical presence, Chisholm is regarded as one of the best defenders to have played for

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. He began his career as a teenager with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

but had to wait until after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to make his debut. He joined

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

in 1947, where his performances earned him a move to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

the following year. He appeared for them in the First Division but was unable to prevent relegation at the end of the season, and he joined Plymouth Argyle six months later. Chisholm was soon appointed

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and helped them challenge for promotion to the First Division after returning to the second tier in 1952, as

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

champions. Injuries and lifestyle ended his career two years later; he had

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

removed from both knees and was known to have a drink in a nearby pub before home matches. Nicknamed ''Jumbo'' due to his stature, Chisholm was inducted into the Plymouth Argyle Hall of Fame in 2004.

Playing career

Born in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmonto ...

, Chisholm had to wait until after the

(during which he served in the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

) to begin his professional career. He made two league appearances for

in 1947 before being transferred to

."Jack Chisholm profile"
Neil Brown. Retrieved 19 September 2010. He quickly established himself in the first team at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

, making 49 league appearances in little over a year. He then joined

, where he made 21 appearances in the First Division. Chisholm then joined Second Division club

in December 1949 for £12,000, with the Pilgrims battling against relegation. He made his debut at

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England. The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901.

in a 2–1 win over

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. It took them two seasons to regain their place in the Second Division, but they did it in style. Chisholm, now captain, led by example. He was never the most graceful or technical player, but he was a towering defender, strong in the air and a thunderous tackler. His ability to inspire his more talented teammates into action and his defensive ability made him an integral part of the team."Jack Chisholm profile"
Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 6 January 2010. With the club's main attacking threat coming from the trio of

Maurice Tadman Maurice Roy Tadman (28 June 1921 – 26 November 1994) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He began his career in non-league football with Bexleyheath & Welling before playing alongside his older brother George at Char ...

, George Dews and

Alex Govan Alexander Govan (16 June 1929 – 10 June 2016) was a Scottish professional footballer who played at outside left. Most of his career was spent with Plymouth Argyle (in two spells) and with Birmingham City during their most successful peri ...

, the Pilgrims were crowned champions. Back in the Second Division, Chisholm and the club went from strength to strength, matching their best ever league finish of 4th in the 1952–53 season. However, the next season was to be Chisholm's last for Argyle and his last as a professional footballer. His lifestyle wasn't ideal for a professional athlete; he enjoyed having a pre-match drink at the nearby Britannia Inn, and injuries also began to take their toll. He played his last game against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

on 26 April 1954. In all, he made 188 appearances for the Pilgrims, scoring 2 goals. Chisholm left a mark on everyone involved with the club at the time and is remembered to this day. In his honour the club named a hospitality suite at Home Park after him, calling it ''The Chisholm Lounge''.

Later life and death

Chisholm was a keen

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, along with teammate George Dews and played the game for various clubs during and after his football career. He played one match for

Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Middlesex which has effectively been subsumed within the ceremonial ...

in 1947, alongside top English players

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...

and

Bill Edrich William John Edrich (26 March 1916 – 24 April 1986) was a first-class cricketer who played for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middlesex, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Norfolk County Cricket Club, Norfolk and England cricket team, England. Ed ...

."Jack Chisholm profile"
Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 January 2010. Jack Richardson Chisholm died in

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...

, London on 24 August 1977 at the age of 52, leaving a daughter, Sandra, and two grandchildren, Stewart and Samantha.

Career statistics

Honours

;Plymouth Argyle *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

: 1951–52 ;Individual * Plymouth Argyle Hall of Fame: 2004 * Plymouth Argyle Team of the Century: 2004

References

External links

Jack Chisholm profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Jack 1924 births 1977 deaths Footballers from Edmonton, London English footballers Association football central defenders Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players English Football League players English cricketers Middlesex cricketers Bedfordshire cricketers Devon cricketers Sheffield United F.C. players Irish Guards soldiers British Army personnel of World War II