James Bullock (25 March 1902 – 9 March 1977) was an English professional

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s.

Playing career

Bullock was born in

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...

and after spending his early days playing with

he joined

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in March 1922. He failed to break into City's first team and in February 1924 he moved to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

Division Three North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Football League Third Division South, Third Division South with clubs Re-election (Football League), ele ...

. After half a season with Crewe he was signed by

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

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 ...

in August 1924. He remained at Southampton for five years during which he was usually only called upon to play in the first team when either

Bill Rawlings William Ernest Rawlings (3 January 1896 – 25 September 1972) was an English footballer. A centre-forward, he scored more than 196 goals in 367 league games in a 15-year career. He began his career with Southampton in 1918, who were elevated f ...

Arthur Dominy Arthur Albert Dominy (11 February 1893 – 23 September 1974) was an English professional footballer, who played as an inside-forward, and football manager, spending most of his career with Southampton. Playing career Southampton He played his ...

were unavailable. In his first three seasons at The Dell he only made fifteen appearances including a spell of ten games in the latter half of the 1925–26 season when first Dominy and then Rawlings were unavailable in which Bullock scored four goals, including a brace against

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 1884 ...

on 10 February 1926. In the following season, although Dominy had now moved on to Everton, Bullock was again unable to secure a regular place as Saints had signed

Dick Rowley Richard William Morris Rowley DCM (13 January 1904 – 18 April 1984) was an Irish professional footballer who played as an inside-forward or centre-forward for Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Preston North End in the English Football L ...

who became the first choice at inside left. Rowley was injured in early December 1927, and after briefly trying

Charlie Petrie Charles Petrie (8 August 1895 – 8 March 1972) was an English professional footballer who played at inside-left for various clubs in the 1920s. Football career Petrie was born in West Gorton, Manchester and played as a youth for the nearby Ope ...

at inside left, manager

Arthur Chadwick Arthur Chadwick (July 1875 – 21 March 1936) was a professional footballer whose playing career as a centre-half included spells at Portsmouth and Southampton, before going on to be manager at Exeter City, Reading and Southampton. He also mad ...

moved Rawlings across and played Bullock at

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Bullock retained the No. 9 shirt for the rest of the season, scoring eight times from seventeen appearances. Despite this relative success he then sat out the whole of the following season in the reserves, with new signings

Jerry Mackie James"Jerry'" Mackie (1 January 1894 – 5 January 1959) was a Scottish footballer who played at inside forward for English south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Football career Mackie was born in Mother ...

and

Willie Haines Wyndham William Pretoria Haines (14 July 1900 – 5 November 1974) was an English footballer who played at centre-forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Club career Haines was born at Warminster ...

being preferred in the first team. In his five seasons with the Saints, Bullock made only 33 league appearances scoring 13 goals, although he notched up a "staggering" 166 goals in 208 games for the reserves. In June 1929, he was recommended by former Southampton player

Alec Campbell Alexander William Campbell (26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War.Shaw, John"Alec Campbell, Last Anzac at Gallipoli, Dies at 103" ''The New York Ti ...

to his successor as manager at

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 ...

Teddy Davison John Edward Davison (2 September 1887 – 1 February 1971) was an English footballer and manager who had a long and successful association with the football clubs of Sheffield, playing for Sheffield Wednesday for 18 years and later managing Shef ...

. Bullock soon became a fixture in the Chesterfield line-up making 39 appearances at centre-forward in his first season scoring 31 goals as his new club finished fourth in the table. During this season, he scored four

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

s, including twice against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. This run of form attracted him to several First Division clubs and he was signed by

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in September 1930 for a fee of £1,250. He made ten first team appearances for United but was only able to find the net in one match, although this was a hat-trick on 8 November 1930 at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

(United lost the match 4–5). United finished the 1930–31 season at the foot of the table and were relegated to the Second Division. Bullock then moved to Republic of Ireland for a season with

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

on a free transfer, followed by a season in Wales with

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

. He then returned to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to his final club,

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

on 9 March 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, Jimmy 1902 births 1977 deaths People from Gorton English footballers Association football forwards Manchester City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players