Levi James Woolf (27 January 1916 – 27 January 2003) was a South African professional footballer who played one match in the Football League 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 ...

in 1937.

Football career

Woolf was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, South Africa but was determined to become a professional footballer in England. In September 1937, he travelled to Britain on board the Union-Castle

liner A low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) is a type of galactic nucleus that is defined by its spectral line emission. The spectra typically include line emission from weakly ionized or neutral atoms, such as O, O+, N+, and S+. ...

, '' Balmoral Castle''; a steward on the liner heard of Woolf's intentions and sent a telegram to the manager of

Southampton Football Club Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...

, Tom Parker. Parker arranged for Woolf to be met after he disembarked at

Southampton Docks The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and op ...

and he was given a trial. He was signed by the club after the trial match and was soon playing regularly at

inside right 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 ...

in the reserves. On 11 December 1937, he made his first-team debut when he took the place of

Ray Parkin Raymond Edward Parkin (6 November 191019 June 2005) was an Australian naval seaman, writer, draftsman, artist and historian. He is noted for his memoirs of World War II (including his time as a prisoner-of-war), and for a major work on James Co ...

at inside-right for the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

match against

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

, with Parkin moving to

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 ...

in place of Benny Gaughran who had recently been sold to Sunderland. Although the match was won 2–1, with Parkin scoring both Saints' goals, Woolf was not a great success and he returned to the reserves. In the summer of 1938, he joined

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 ...

of the Southern League. At the end of his first season at Guildford, they finished as Southern League runners-up.

Later career

During the Second World War, Woolf enlisted in the Army and served in Burma. After the war, he returned to South Africa.

References

External links

Career details on www.11v11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolf, Jimmy 1916 births 2003 deaths Soccer players from Johannesburg South African men's soccer players Southampton F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders Southern Football League players