| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Ruffell | ||
| Date of birth | 8 August 1900 | ||
| Place of birth | Doncaster, England | ||
| Date of death | 6 September 1989 (aged 89) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Outside-left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1921–1937 | West Ham | 505 | (159) |
| 1937–1938 | Aldershot | 2 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1926–1929 | England | 6 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Jimmy Ruffell (8 August 1900 – 6 September 1989) was an English footballer who played for West Ham United.
Ruffell was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but moved south at an early age. He played for Essex Road School, Manor Park, Fullers, Chadwell Heath United, Manor Park Albion, East Ham and Wall End United, before West Ham signed him from the works team of the Ilford Electricity Board in March 1920.
Ruffell, an outside-left, made his West Ham debut in September 1921, a 3-0 home victory over Port Vale. He was an ever-present during the 1924-25 season, and went on to make 548 senior appearances for the Hammers, a record that wasn't beaten until Bobby Moore surpassed it in 1973. He scored a total of 166 goals, placing him above many of West Ham's finest strikers in the club's records, and was the club's top scorer for the 1927-28 and 1934-35 seasons. Despite this, he didn't score a single goal during the 1921-22, 1932–33 and 1936-37 seasons.
In 1923, he was part of the team that contested the first FA Cup Final to be staged at Wembley Stadium, known as The White Horse Final.
In April 1926, he made his international debut in a 0-1 defeat by Scotland in Manchester. He played for England a further five times, but competition from the likes of Cliff Bastin and Eric Houghton kept him out of the team.
Ruffell left the east London club in 1937. He joined Aldershot for a short spell, playing his last game against Port Vale, the club he'd debuted against 17 years earlier.