John David Stamps (2 December 1918 – 19 November 1991) 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 ...
who scored two goals in the
1946 FA Cup Final for
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in a 4–1 win against
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
. This is Derby's only FA Cup triumph. Stamps came close to scoring in regular time but the ball burst as he shot, making it easier to save. Stamps was famous for his powerful shot and is a cult figure in Derby County history, with the club's annual
Player of the Year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is he ...
award being named after him.
In 1942–43, Stamps made 14 guest appearances for
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, scoring 11 goals.
He played for
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...
in the 1954–1955 season, signed by manager Reg Weston. He had scored 12 goals (including 2 penalties) in the Birmingham League and 6 goals in cup ties before the boxing day match against Gresley Rovers.
He died in November 1991, shortly before his 73rd birthday. Although
blind for the final 20 years of his life, he continued to attend Derby County games.
There was a pub in Derby city centre named after him, opened in 1998, but in the early 2000s it was changed to a
Walkabout
Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...
bar.
References
External links
1946 FA Cup Final Report from the Derby Evening Telegraph
1918 births
1991 deaths
Footballers from Rotherham
English footballers
Mansfield Town F.C. players
New Brighton A.F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Burton Albion F.C. players
Southampton F.C. wartime guest players
English Football League players
Association football forwards
FA Cup Final players
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