James William Trotter (25 November 1899 – 17 April 1984) 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 ...

who played as a

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 the Football League for Bury,

The 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 ...

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 ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

. He later became a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Playing career

Born in

Easington, County Durham Easington, also known as Easington Village, is a village and civil parish in eastern County Durham, England. It is located at the junction of the A182 and B1283, leading north-west to Hetton-le-Hole and south east to Horden. It is near the ...

, Trotter served in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. His professional career began with Bury from where he joined

in 1921. He scored 109 goals in 154 League matches, including five in one game against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in December 1924. During his tenure at The Wednesday he was the leading goalscorer of 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 ...

in the season 1925–26 and in the First Division in the season 1926–27. During both seasons he scored 37 goals in the league. Trotter joined

in 1930 and scored 26 goals in his first season at

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

before losing his place due to a knee injury. He moved to

in the 1932–33 season but retired as a player after only a few games.

Managerial career

Trotter had originally joined Charlton as a trainer twenty two years earlier under

Jimmy Seed James Marshall Seed (25 March 1895 – 16 July 1966) was an English footballer and football manager. Despite being born in Blackhill, Seed was brought up in the village of Whitburn on the coast just to the north of Sunderland, the family movin ...

, but after Seed's sacking he was appointed manager in 1956, although he was unable to prevent relegation that season in 1957. In the following season saw the extraordinary match against

Huddersfield Town F.C. Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

at The Valley on 21 December 1957. Charlton played most of the match with 10 men after their captain Derek Ufton was injured, and Huddersfield were leading 5–1 with just 27 minutes remaining. At that point, Johnny Summers began an extraordinary passage of play in which he scored five goals and assisted with two others to allow Charlton to win 7–6. Huddersfield become the first, and still the only, team to score six goals in an English Football League match – or indeed any other professional football match – and still be on the losing side. Trotter came close to taking the Addicks back into the top flight that season, but lost 4–3 to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

on the final day of the season, when a draw would have seen Charlton promoted. The remaining seasons under Trotter's charge saw finishes of eighth, seventh and tenth before he was fired in 1961 after just one victory in twelve games.

References

External links

Jimmy Trotter profile
from the Charlton Athletic official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Trotter, Jimmy 1899 births 1984 deaths Military personnel from County Durham Sportspeople from Easington, County Durham Footballers from County Durham English footballers English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Association football forwards Bury F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Watford F.C. players English football managers Charlton Athletic F.C. managers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers Newcastle United F.C. wartime guest players