Ted Ditchburn

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Edwin George Ditchburn (born 24 October 1921 in Gillingham, Kent; died December 28, 2005) was an English professional football goalkeeper who played for Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. He earned 6 caps for the England national football team.

The son of a professional boxer, Ditchburn joined the ground staff at Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in 1937 and turned professional two years later. His career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, but he returned to Spurs when football resumed after the war and missed only two games between April 1946 and March 1954. An ever present member of the side that won promotion as Division Two champions in 1950 and the league title the following year, he developed the ‘short throw’ that provided the starting block for Tottenham's famous ‘push and run’ style of the early 1950s.

A broken finger against Chelsea ended his career with Spurs in August 1958 and the following year he became player/manager of Romford.