The Pompey Chimes

James William 'Jimmy' Dickinson (25 April 1925 – 8 November 1982) was an English football player.

Dickinson holds the record for number of league appearances for Portsmouth (764). Only Swindon Town's John Trollope (770) has made more appearances for a single club.

He signed for Portsmouth as a trainee and made his debut in 1946 against Blackburn Rovers Settling into the side quickly at either wing-half or left-half, he was part of the team that won successive league championships in 1948–49 and 1949–50. His performances earned him a call-up to the England national football team. He went on to win 48 caps for England, making him Portsmouth's most capped English player of all time. During his record 845 club appearances for Pompey and his 48 England caps he was never once booked or sent off, earning him the nickname Gentleman Jim.

Awarded the MBE in 1964, he played his last match for Pompey a year later, helping Pompey to a 1–1 end-of-season draw at Northampton Town that secured safety from relegation. And when he retired from playing, his association with the club continued. He served Pompey as public relations officer and then secretary before accepting the position of manager in May 1977. Relegation from the Third Division was avoided, but the next year Pompey dropped down a league.

Sadly, after three heart attacks, Dickinson died aged 57 in 1982. The famous 'Pompey Chimes' rang hauntingly around St Mary's Church in Fratton at a packed memorial service for the much-loved legend.

In 1998 he was included on the list of 100 Legends produced to celebrate the centenary of the Football League.

Dickinson's image can be seen in the seating in the Fratton End stand in Fratton Park.

In his home town of Alton there is a pub named The Gentleman Jim and Dickinson Road in Portsmouth was named in his honour.

Career statistics

External links

• Jimmy Dickinson, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database
• Dickinson's image in Fratton Park

England Squad - 1950 FIFA World Cup

England Squad - 1954 FIFA World Cup

Portsmouth FC - Football League Champions 1948-1949 and 1949-1950

Pompey celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1948. Field Marshal Montgomery who was president of the club greeted the players before the match against Arsenal at Fratton Park, which they won 4-1. Jimmy Dickinson  can be seen 6th player from the front leaning forward.

                  View the Hall of Fame members and the latest Hall of Fame news here

England 1950 World Cup Squad

Head coach: Walter Winterbottom

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club - DF John Aston 2 September 1921 (aged 28) 14 Manchester United - MF Eddie Baily 6 August 1925 (aged 24) 0 Tottenham Hotspur - FW Roy Bentley 17 May 1924 (aged 26) 4 Chelsea - MF Henry Cockburn 14 September 1921 (aged 28) 10 Manchester United - MF Jimmy Dickinson 24 April 1925 (aged 25) 7 Portsmouth - GK Ted Ditchburn 24 October 1921 (aged 28) 2 Tottenham Hotspur - DF Bill Eckersley 16 July 1925 (aged 24) 0 Blackburn Rovers - FW Tom Finney 5 April 1922 (aged 28) 25 Preston North End - MF Laurie Hughes 2 March 1924 (aged 26) 0 Liverpool - FW Wilf Mannion 16 May 1918 (aged 32) 19 Middlesbrough - FW Stanley Matthews 1 February 1915 (aged 35) 30 Blackpool - FW Jackie Milburn 11 May 1924 (aged 26) 7 Newcastle United - FW Stan Mortensen 26 May 1921 (aged 29) 18 Blackpool - FW Jimmy Mullen 6 January 1923 (aged 27) 4 Wolverhampton Wanderers - MF Bill Nicholson 26 January 1919 (aged 31) 0 Tottenham Hotspur - DF Alf Ramsey 22 January 1920 (aged 30) 5 Tottenham Hotspur - DF Laurie Scott 23 April 1917 (aged 33) 17 Arsenal - DF Jim Taylor 5 November 1917 (aged 32) 0 Fulham - MF Willie Watson 7 March 1920 (aged 30) 2 Sunderland - GK Bert Williams 31 January 1920 (aged 30) 7 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. - DF Billy Wright 6 February 1924 (aged 26) 29 Wolverhampton Wanderers

England 1954 World Cup Squad

Head coach: Walter Winterbottom

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club 1 GK Gil Merrick 26 January 1922 (aged 32) 20 Birmingham City 2 DF Ron Staniforth 13 April 1924 (aged 30) 3 Huddersfield Town 3 DF Roger Byrne 8 February 1929 (aged 25) 3 Manchester United 4 DF Billy Wright 6 February 1924 (aged 30) 58 Wolverhampton Wanderers 5 MF Syd Owen 28 February 1922 (aged 32) 2 Luton Town 6 MF Jimmy Dickinson 24 April 1925 (aged 29) 35 Portsmouth 7 FW Stanley Matthews 1 February 1915 (aged 39) 36 Blackpool 8 FW Ivor Broadis 18 December 1922 (aged 31) 11 Newcastle United 9 FW Nat Lofthouse 27 August 1925 (aged 28) 19 Bolton Wanderers 10 FW Tommy Taylor 29 January 1932 (aged 22) 3 Manchester United 11 FW Tom Finney 5 April 1922 (aged 32) 51 Preston North End 12 GK Ted Burgin 29 April 1927 (aged 27) 0 Sheffield United 13 DF Ken Green 27 April 1924 (aged 30) 0 Birmingham City 14 MF Bill McGarry 10 June 1927 (aged 27) 0 Huddersfield Town 15 FW Dennis Wilshaw 11 March 1926 (aged 28) 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 16 MF Albert Quixall 9 August 1933 (aged 20) 3 Sheffield Wednesday 17 FW Jimmy Mullen 6 January 1923 (aged 31) 11 Wolverhampton Wanderers 18 DF Allenby Chilton* 16 September 1918 (aged 35) 2 Manchester United 19 MF Ken Armstrong* 3 June 1924 (aged 30) 0 Chelsea 20 MF Bedford Jezzard* 19 October 1927 (aged 26) 1 Fulham 21 MF Johnny Haynes* 17 October 1934 (aged 19) 0 Fulham 22 FW Harry Hooper* 14 June 1933 (aged 21) 0 West Ham United

• Only 17 of the 22 official squad members actually travelled to Switzerland for the 1954 tournament. Five players—Ken Armstrong, Allenby Chilton, Johnny Haynes, Harry Hooper and Bedford Jezzard—were put on reserve status and remained at home awaiting a call if the need arose. It did not

Published on Saturday 12 January 2013 12:00

PHOTO: STATUE Sculptor and artist Roger Holman, left, with lifelong Pompey fan Graham Farmer.

HE was loved by fans as the ‘gentleman’ of Portsmouth Football Club.

And now supporters are pushing for a 9ft statue to pay tribute to Pompey legend Jimmy Dickinson.

Dickinson, who played left-half, made 828 appearances for the club and scored 10 goals.

He was nicknamed ‘Gentleman Jim’ as he was never booked by a referee during his 20-year career.

The proposed statue would go on the corner of Milton Road and Alverstoke Road, in Milton.

PICTURE- maquette - a miniature model of the statue

Graham Farmer, 49, of Milton, is a fan who is spearheading the project.

He said: ‘Jimmy is synonymous with everything good about the club and football in general. So it’s time, I feel, he was recognised with a statue.’

Artist Roger Holman has been picked to design and build the statue.

Mr Holman, 50, has recently made a bust of Charles Dickens, which is in Portsmouth’s Central Library.

He has made a maquette – a mini model pictured above – to show what the statue will look like.

Mr Holman said: ‘The family came to see the maquette, approved it and gave consent for the statue. It’s an honour to make the statue. We want to try and give something accurate. It was great meeting Jimmy’s family and looking through the family albums, as this really helped me with the maquette.

‘It’s been 30 years since he died, so it’s a fitting time to have this tribute.

‘He was a great man, he never got a yellow card, red card or was even spoken to by a linesman. He’s a tremendous part of Pompey’s story.’

Fans say they have planning permission from Portsmouth City Council and have three years to build the statue.

Now £75,000 needs to be raised in order to pay for the plinth, statue and landscaping.

Work is under way to come up with fundraising ideas, including a website that people can donate money to.

Graham said he recognises that it is a difficult time to ask for money when fans are being asked to contribute to the takeover of the club, but said he hoped supporters would back him.

He said: ‘I think it was a missed opportunity before, but the fans I’ve spoken to support it and think it’s about time and it’s 30 years too late. I’m confident fans will get behind this.’

Neil Weld, a spokesman for PFC, said: ‘Jimmy is arguably the greatest player ever to pull on the famous blue shirt – that’s why his face adorns the Fratton End. We can think of no more deserving a recipient of this honour than Jimmy.’

Teenage star who became a Fratton Park favourite

JIMMY Dickinson made his debut for Pompey on May 1, 1943, at the age of 18.

He took a three-year break from football to join the Royal Navy, before returning to the club in 1946.

Three years later on May 18, Dickinson won his first cap for England, as the side won 4-1 against Norway.

It would be the first of 48 international appearances.

In September 1976, Dickinson took over as manager.

He died in November 1982, aged 57, after suffering from three heart attacks.