Norman Harold Heath (31 January 1924 – November 1983) 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 le ...

who played 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

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 ...

Biography

Heath was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

and was an old player with Bushbury Hill school and hampton boys. He joined

as an amateur in May 1942 and turned professional in October 1943, having made his debut in September 1943 in the

Football League North 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 ...

against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. His career was interrupted when he joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1944, initially based locally with the

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 196 ...

before serving with the

Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. Obtaining the rank of

Company Quartermaster Sergeant Company quartermaster sergeant is a military rank or appointment. Canada A company quartermaster sergeant (CQMS) in the Canadian Forces is the non-commissioned officer in a company who is in charge of supplies. The CQMS also serves as the deputy ...

he also appeared for the Combined Services XI side a number of times. He returned to Albion and made his full

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 ...

debut in 1947 against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, although it would be 1952 before Heath replaced incumbent Jimmy Sanders as the Baggies first choice keeper. However his career was cut short in 1954 when, during a league match with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

he was involved in a collision with

Ted Purdon Edward John Purdon (1 March 1930 – 29 April 2007) was a South African professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for Birmingham City in the Second Division of the Football League and for Sunderland in the First Division. Bio ...

, leading to severe back and neck injuries that forced his retirement from the game. Heath, who used a wheelchair for the rest of his life, was granted a testimonial against an International XI in 1956. 55,000 well-wishers turned up. He had a spell as manager of local club Great Barr Gunners before his death in Great Barr,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in November 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Norman 1924 births 1983 deaths Footballers from Wolverhampton English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players King's Shropshire Light Infantry soldiers Royal Leicestershire Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Wolverhampton English Football League players