James Kidd was a

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 a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

and

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 ...

Early life and career

Kidd was born in

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 ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. He played for Northern League club

and spent four years with

Spennymoor United Spennymoor United Association Football Club was an association football club based in Spennymoor, County Durham, England. History Spennymoor United Association Football Club was formed in 1904 as an amalgamation of Spennymoor Town and Weardale ...

(two in the Northern League, two in the

North-Eastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

) before joining

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

club Blackpool in July 2010.

Blackpool

Kidd made his debut for

late in the 1910-11 season, in a goalless draw with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the ...

on 8 April. He took over from William Fiske, who up until that point had been present for 72 consecutive League games, for the four remaining games of the season that followed. Fiske returned to the team for the first 23 League games of the 1911-12 campaign. Hoad took over for another goalless draw, this time at

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

on 6 February. He also played in the five games that followed, four of which were losses. Kidd (16 League appearances) and Fiske (22) shared the goalkeeping role in 1912-13, before the latter made it his own again in 1913-14. Fiske left the club at the end of the season, allowing Kidd to become the first-choice 'keeper for 1914-15. He played in the first 30 League games before leaving the club for

. Two other goalkeepers — James Mitchell and

Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Tennessee f ...

— played for Blackpool in the eight remaining games of the season.

Later career

Kidd signed for

of the First Division in March 1915, and made nine appearances before the Football League was abandoned for the duration of the First World War. On the eve of its resumption in September 1919, he joined

, for whom he played 20 First Division matches over three seasons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, James Year of birth missing Year of death missing Place of death missing Footballers from Darlington English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Darlington F.C. players Spennymoor United A.F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Northern Football League players English Football League players Fleetwood Town F.C. players