James Lyons Mittell (28 February 1906 – 30 March 1976), known as Jackie Mittell, was a Welsh 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 made 247 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

playing for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, Wigan Borough,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...

and Barrow. He 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 ...

. Mittell was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, and began his football career in his native country with

Merthyr Town Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The ...

and Penrhiwceiber, before crossing the border to England to join

of the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

in 1926. He played 46 League games for Rochdale before joining Wigan Borough in 1929. Mittell played 40 league games for Wigan Borough before joining Connah's Quay, but was back at Wigan for what turned out to be the club's last season. The season opened with a 4–0 defeat in Chester's first game since their election to the Football League. The final first-team game before the club folded and their results were expunged was a 5–0 defeat at

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on 24 October 1931. Mittell had been ever-present for those 12 games. He joined First Division club

as backup to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

's first-choice goalkeeper Harry Hibbs. He played only six times in 18 months, and moved on to

and Derry City before finding a regular place in the starting eleven at

. After 78 games in all competitions for Hartlepools, Mittell joined his last Football League club, Barrow, where he spent one season before moving into non-league football with Tunbridge Wells Rangers. Mittell died on 30 March 1976 aged 70.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mittell, Jackie 1906 births 1976 deaths Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil Welsh men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Merthyr Town F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Wigan Borough F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Tunbridge Wells F.C. players English Football League players