Ernest 'Cliff' Thorley (17 January 1916 – 2006) 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 forward and winger. He most notably 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 ...

for

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 ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

Thorley was born in

Wath Wath may refer to: Places in England * Wath, Cumbria, a U.K. location * Wath (near Ripon), a village in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire * Wath, Ryedale, a village in North Yorkshire * Wath-in-Nidderdale, a village near Pateley Bridge in Har ...

, and began his football career with

Frickley Colliery Frickley & South Elmsall Colliery was opened by the Carlton Main Colliery Company Ltd in 1903 in South Elmsall, in Yorkshire, England. Frickley & South Elmsall Colliery The first sod was cut on 23 April 1903 of shafts No.1 and No.2 and the ...

, before turning professional with

at age 17. Whilst playing for Frickley he captained Yorkshire and represented his county on multiple occasions. One year later he joined Hull City, and then played for Kidderminster Harriers in the Birmingham league before joining

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

. Thorley was a very popular player in Cheltenham. He played in 37 of 38 League and Cup matches—missing only one because of a severe cold—and scoring 13 times. Wrote the ''Gloucestershire Echo'', "One of the fastest wingers ever to assist Cheltenham Town, Thorley is the possessor of a devastating shot which, with his remarkable speed, has caused defences many anxious times." Thorley, then 22, was transferred to

in 1938. In 1939, he made a shock decision to retire from professional football at a young age to become a policeman in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...

. In 1942, he played in the Inter-Allied Services Cup, a wartime football competition involving British serviceman, police and firefighters. Other members of the police squad were Jack Nicholas,

Bob Brocklebank Bob Brocklebank (8 April 1908 – September 1981) was an English footballer and manager. He played for Aston Villa and Burnley, where he was top goalscorer in 1937-38 before becoming a manager, at Chesterfield, Birmingham City, Hull City an ...

, and Tom Smith.

References

External links

Official Frickley Athletic museum and hall of fame website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorley, Cliff 1916 births 2006 deaths English footballers Association football forwards Frickley Athletic F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players Date of death missing