James Dickinson (11 November 1899 – 1971) 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 lea ...

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for Plymouth Argyle and

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. He played as a

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Dickinson was born in

Crawshawbooth Crawshawbooth is a small village located on the edge of the Pennines in England, just north of the market town of Rawtenstall, Lancashire, and south of Loveclough. It is situated in the Rossendale Valley, which was once an ancient royal huntin ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. After service in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

he joined Plymouth Argyle, then a Southern League club, in 1919, and went on to make 141 appearances for the club in all competitions, 111 of which were in

. Dixon played in Argyle's first game in the Football League, as the Southern League Division One clubs were absorbed to form the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

for the 1920–21 season, and was involved in the buildup to their first Football League goal, scored by Jimmy Heeps. He played his last game for Argyle in November 1924, and then returned to Lancashire, where he joined Wigan Borough, though without appearing in their Football League side, and then

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Rossendale United. He finished his Football League career with 16 games for

in the 1926–27 season. Dickinson died in 1971.

References

1899 births 1971 deaths People from Crawshawbooth English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Wigan Borough F.C. players Rossendale United F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Date of death missing Place of death missing 20th-century Royal Navy personnel Footballers from Lancashire Military personnel from Lancashire Royal Navy sailors 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-midfielder-1890s-stub