James Atkinson Gotts (17 January 1917 – December 1998) 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 in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

as an outside right for Brighton & Hove Albion. He played twice for

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 the

1945–46 FA Cup The 1945–46 FA Cup was the 65th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, generally known as the FA Cup, and the first to be held after the Second World War. Derby County were the winners, bea ...

, appeared for Colchester United in the Southern League Cup, and played North-Eastern League football for Ashington.

Career

James Atkinson Gotts was born on 17 January 1917 in Seaton Delaval,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. He attended Seaton Delaval School, with whose football team his goalscoring ability first became apparent. He joined East Cramlington Black Watch Juniors, where the 16-year-old "maintained his special forte of marksmanship" with 26 goals from 10 Bedlington and District Junior League matches in the first half of the 1933–34 season. Gotts scored in the first minute of the Bedlington Junior Cup final, which Cramlington won in front of scouts from several

clubs, and was reportedly "booked for a further look over". That interest came to nothing, but he soon moved on to Ashington of the North-Eastern League, and was selected in "his proper position" of

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 ...

for their first team in late October 1935. He continued for a time in the first team, but appeared increasingly for the reserves in the latter part of 1936 and in 1937, and is known to have undergone knee surgery following a football injury. Gotts served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during 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 ...

. In January 1946, he resumed his football career, signing professional forms with

. He made four appearances and scored once in the

Football League South The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...

wartime league, and played twice without scoring in the

, on 31 January in a 5–0 victory at home to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in the fourth round and nine days later in a 3–1 win away to Queens Park Rangers. Gotts played once as a guest for Colchester United, on 13 April in a Southern League Cup match in which Colchester won 5–2 away to

Guildford City Guildford City Football Club (formerly Guildford United and AFC Guildford) is a football club based in Guildford, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1921, folded in 1974 and was reformed in 1996. Guildford City play in the . Histo ...

. According to the '' Essex County Standard'', Gotts' "brilliant placing of the ball from long distances often led to shots rights on the target." In June 1946, ahead of the Football League's post-war resumption, Gotts signed for

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 ...

club Brighton & Hove Albion. His debut was delayed because of an injury sustained during pre-season, but he eventually made his first appearance in the Football League on 21 December, playing at outside rightcharacterised as a "lively winger" and one of seven players used in that position over the seasonin a 3–1 defeat away to

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. His second and last, a week later, was in an even heavier defeat away to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. He was released at the end of the season, and made no more appearances in League football. Gotts died in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, west London, in December 1998 at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotts, Jim 1917 births 1998 deaths People from Seaton Delaval Footballers from Northumberland English men's footballers Men's association football outside forwards Ashington A.F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Royal Navy personnel of World War II