James Thomas Jinks (19 August 1916 – 1981) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward in the English Football League between 1938 and 1952 for Millwall, Fulham, Luton Town and Aldershot.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Thomas Jinks | ||
| Date of birth | 19 August 1916 | ||
| Place of birth | Camberwell, England | ||
| Date of death | 23 November 1981 (aged 65)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Eltham, England[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| ? –1938 | Downham Community | ||
| 1938–1948 | Millwall | 45 | (16) |
| 1948–1950 | Fulham | 11 | (3) |
| 1950–1951 | Luton Town | 9 | (2) |
| 1951–1952 | Aldershot | 5 | (0) |
| 1952–1953 | Ashford Town | 18 | (16) |
| 1953 | Dover | ||
| 1953 | Snowdown CW | ||
| Total | 88 | (37) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He was signed aged 22 by Millwall in October 1938 from Catford League Premier Division club Downham Community for whom he had been a prolific goalscorer – the local newspaper had awarded him a 'Silver Spoon' for scoring two double hat-tricks.[3] He played his first league game for Millwall in the final match of the 1938–1939 season and scored on his debut.[4] League football was then suspended for the following seven seasons owing to World War II, however playing in the wartime 1939–1940 Regional South C League he scored 23 goals between Christmas and mid-March prior to his being called-up for National service.[5] He was a member of the Millwall team that were beaten in the 1945 Football League War Cup South final and also during the war years he appeared as a guest player for West Ham United.[6]
The 1946–1947 season saw the resumption of peacetime league football and now aged thirty he continued playing with Millwall in the second tier of English football – that season with nine strikes from his 22 matches played he was the team’s second highest goalscorer (the highest scorer with ten goals had played all 42 league matches).[7] The following season, 1947–1948, in which Millwall finished bottom of the table and were relegated from the Football League Second Division he was the team’s joint-second highest scorer with six goals over 22 matches played.[8]
In the summer of 1948 he signed with Fulham[9] playing nine games (with three goals) in the 1948–1949 season in which the team were promoted to the Football League First Division. After playing just two games in the top tier of English football, both during February 1950, in early March he was transferred 'for a substantial fee' to Second Division club Luton Town.[10] In September 1951 after eighteen months at Luton in which he played nine league matches scoring three goals his next club was Aldershot[11] of Football League Third Division South where he played only a handful of matches without scoring.
After a single season with Aldershot at the outset of the 1952–1953 campaign he signed with Kent League club Ashford Town.[12] Although he moved to Kent League title challenging Dover in early April 1953[13] he was Ashford’s joint-highest league scorer for the season with an almost goal a game average of 16 goals from 18 matches.[12] His stay at Dover was short and at the start of the 1953–1954 season he signed with the Snowdown Colliery Welfare club.[14]
References edit
- ^ a b "Jimmy Jinks". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ Jimmy Jinks at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- ^ "It's Worth A Note That". Lewisham Borough News. 1 November 1938. p. 14.
- ^ "Statistics 1938/39". The Millwall History Files. millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ "Jinks Makes The Goalkeepers Jump". The People. 17 March 1940. p. 15.
- ^ Hogg, Tony (1995). West Ham Who's Who. London: Independent UK Sports publications. p. 223. ISBN 1-899429-01-8.
- ^ "Statistics 1946/47". The Millwall History Files. millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ "Statistics 1947/48". The Millwall History Files. millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ "Sporting Talk By Sloman: Jimmy Jinks Finds A Home". South London Observer. 6 August 1948. p. 6.
- ^ "More Soccer Transfers". Western Daily Press. 3 March 1950. p. 5.
- ^ "Jinks Signs For Aldershot". Lincolnshire Echo. 14 September 1951. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Jimmy Jinks Player Profile". The Nuts and Bolts Archive. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Dover Try To Strengthen For Last Few Games". Kentish Express. 10 April 1953. p. 4.
- ^ "Snowdown Go For Experience Among The Forwards". Kentish Express. 28 August 1953. p. 4.