Jimmy Hampson

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Personal information
Jimmy Hampson
Full name	James Hampson
Date of birth	March 23, 1906
Place of birth	Little Hulton, England
Date of death	January 10, 1938 (aged 31)
Place of death	Fleetwood, England
Playing position	Centre-forward
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1925-1927 1927-1938	Nelson Blackpool	00? 00(?) 361 (248)
National team
1930-1932	England	003 00(5)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

James "Jimmy" Hampson (March 23, 1906 - January 10, 1938) was an English professional footballer. He spent eleven seasons at Blackpool, where he remains record goalscorer.

Born in Little Hulton, Lancashire, Hampson joined the Seasiders from non-league Nelson in October 1927 for a fee of £1,000. He went on to score 31 goals in the remaining 32 games of the season. the following season he scored 40 goals to become the Second Division's top scorer, which prompted Arsenal to make a near-record bid of £10,000 for his services. Hampson turned down the move, perhaps preferring life in a northern seaside town to that of the bright-lights capital.

In 1929-30, Blackpool won the Second Division championship and were promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history. At the end of their debut season in the First Division, Hampson was the League's top scorer with 45 goals, thanks largely to his partnership with centre-half Billy Tremelling, who would often provide through-balls for Hampson to feed on. He was honoured by having a model of himself at Louis Tussaud's Waxworks.

Even though Blackpool struggled in Division One, Hampson still managed to score 72 goals. After the club was relegated, he remained their top scorer for the following two seasons. He also held the record for the fastest century of goals: 101 in 97 games between 1927 and 1930.

Hampson's international career was brief, due to the presence of Everton's Dixie Dean combined with Hampson's club playing in the League's second tier. He scored five goals in just three appearances, however, including one on his debut against Ireland on October 20, 1930.^[1]

Hampson was idolised in Blackpool, and when he drowned in a boating accident in January 1938, at the age of 31, the town was stunned. His body was never recovered.