Ted Purdon

Ted Purdon
Personal information
Full nameEdward John Purdon
Date of birth1 March 1930
Place of birthJohannesburg, South Africa
Date of death29 April 2007 (aged 77)
Place of deathToronto, Canada
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing positionInside- or centre-forward
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1948-1950Marist Brothers?(?)
1950–1954Birmingham City64(27)
1954–1957Sunderland90(39)
1957–1958Workington33(9)
1958–1959Barrow37(11)
1959–1960Bath City6(3)
1960Bristol Rovers4(0)
1960-1961Wellington Town
1961Toronto White Eagles
1961—1963New York Ukrainians
1963Toronto City
1963Toronto Inter-Roma
1964Toronto City22(17)
1964-1965New York Ukrainians
1965Toronto City?(11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Edward John "Ted" Purdon (1 March 1930 – 29 April 2007) was a South African professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for Birmingham City in the Second Division of the Football League and for Sunderland in the First Division.

Biography

Purdon was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He came to England on tour with his South African club in 1950 at the age of 20, was watched by representatives of several clubs, and signed for Birmingham City. During his three seasons at the club he scored 30 goals in 70 games in all competitions and was the club's top scorer in 1953–54, despite playing only 23 games before his mid-season transfer to Sunderland.[1] He was also a good cricketer, and was named once as twelfth man for Warwickshire.[2] He moved to Sunderland, then known as the "Bank of England club" because of their high transfer spending,[3] for a fee of £15,000.

Purdon made a spectacular start to his Sunderland career, scoring twice on debut against Cardiff City and following that up with a hat-trick against Arsenal at Highbury in his second game.[4] The first goal of the three, scored after only ten seconds, is believed to be the fastest goal in Sunderland's history.[5] Playing alongside the likes of Len Shackleton and Billy Bingham, he scored 42 goals in 96 games for the club over his three-year career. Purdon was a big man whose "physique allied to a total lack of fear made him a handful for any centre-half";[2] West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Norman Heath was in collision with him during a game and received spinal injuries so severe that he never played again.[6]

He and his team-mates were punished by the Football Association for receiving illegal payments from the club.[7] By the time this matter was investigated, Purdon had left Sunderland for Workington in the Third Division North. He played his part in the Cumbrian club coming close to knocking Manchester United's Busby Babes out of the 1958 FA Cup. Workington took an early lead and Purdon came close to adding a second before Dennis Viollet's second-half hat-trick settled the matter.[8]

In March 1958 he moved to nearby Barrow, also in the Third Division North, where he also spent a year. He was part of the Barrow team which conceded ten goals in a league match at Hartlepools United.[9] In August 1959 he dropped into non-league football, helping Bath City to the Southern League championship. This success prompted a move back into the Second Division at Bristol Rovers, but he only made four first-team appearances for the club. He emigrated to Canada in 1961, where he played for Toronto City and other Canadian clubs, and also helped New York Ukrainians to win the 1965 National Challenge Cup.[10] He later coached in Canada.

Purdon was a founder member and honorary president of Sunderland's North American supporters' club.[11] In company with fellow supporters he had just watched on television Sunderland beating Burnley in the game which almost clinched the club's 2007 promotion to the Premier League when he suffered a stroke. He died in a Toronto hospital two days later at the age of 77.[12]

Honours

Notes

  1. ↑ Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 189. ISBN 1-85983-010-2.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matthews, p. 118.
  3. ↑ "1950-1959". Sunderland A.F.C. Club history. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  4. ↑ "Ted Purdon". StatCat: Sunderland AFC - The definitive, up-to-date, playing history. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  5. ↑ "Former SAFC striker dies". Sunderland A.F.C. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  6. ↑ "A performance to forget". Northern Echo. 2003-09-16. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  7. ↑ "Three-Year Ban On Footballer – T. Ford "Handed £250 In Notes"". The Times (Accessed via Times Digital Archive (subscription required)). 1957-07-11. p. 3. T. Ford, the former Sunderland footballer and Welsh international centre-forward, who has joined a Dutch club, has been banned as a professional by the Football Association for the next three seasons. Eight other players, who were said to have received illegal payments from Sunderland, are to lose six months' qualification for benefit or accrued share of benefit. … The other eight players named in the commission's findings are G. Aitken, S. Anderson, W. Bingham, W. Holden, S. Kemp, J. McDonald, E. Purdon and L. Shackleton, the England inside forward.
  8. ↑ "Workington Falter In Second Half – Worried Champions". The Times (Accessed via Times Digital Archive (subscription required)). 1958-01-06. p. 12. And when Jones slipped to allow Purdon's clear passage up the middle, only a finger-tip deflection by the diving goalkeeper prevented a second goal. There was little rest for the visitors' defence.
  9. ↑ "Pools of wisdom from Hails". Northern Echo. 2004-11-08. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  10. ↑ Stephen Byrne (2007-07-19). "Obituary: Ted Purdon". Bristol Rovers F.C. Fans Forum. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  11. ↑ "Another great day at Scallywags". Black Cats of North America. 2005-04-22. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  12. ↑ "Former club striker dies". Sunderland Echo. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2007-09-06.

References

External links