Jimmy Scarth

Infobox Football biography
playername = Jimmy Scarth


fullname = James William Scarth
dateofbirth = birth date|1926|8|26|mf=y
cityofbirth = North Shields
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath = death date and age|2000|12|12|1926|8|26|mf=y
cityofdeath = Welwyn Garden City
countryofdeath = England
height = 5'9"
nickname =
position = Inside forward
currentclub =
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years =tbc
tbc
tbc
1948-1952
1952-1955
1955-1960
clubs = Percy Main
North Shields
Percy Main
Tottenham Hotspur
Gillingham
Gravesend & Northfleet
caps(goals) = tbc
tbc
tbc
7 (3)
138 (24)
189 (64)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears =
managerclubs =

James William "Jimmy" Scarth (born North Shields, August 26, 1926, died Welwyn Garden City, December 12, 2000) was an English association football player who for more than fifty years held the record for the fastest hat-trick scored in the history of the Football League.

Born in North Shields in 1926, he first made his name with local amateur sides, and as a result was invited to Tottenham Hotspur for trials. Although he impressed the London club and was signed as a professional, he found first team opportunities limited at White Hart Lane and moved to Gillingham in 1952 for £3,500. It was during his time at Priestfield Stadium that he wrote his name into the record books with a lightning-fast hat-trick against Leyton Orient on 1 November 1952. This was officially recognised as the fastest hat-trick in the history of the Football League until February 2004 when James Hayter notched three goals in 2 minutes 20 seconds for AFC Bournemouth against Wrexham, with contemporary reports stating that the previous record had been 2 minutes 30 seconds. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bournemouth/3485294.stm BBC Sport news story] ] Sources published in the intervening years, however, give the total time of Scarth's goals as exactly 2 minutes [cite book | first=Bill|last=Bateson |coauthors=Albert Sewell | title=News of the World Football Annual 1992/93| publisher=Harper Collins | year=1992| id=ISBN 0-85543-188-1|pages=229] or even as little as 110 seconds, which is quicker than the time claimed by Irish player Jimmy O'Connor for the "world's fastest hat-trick". [cite book | first=Roger|last= Triggs | title=The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club| publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd | year=2001| id=ISBN 0-7524-2243-X|pages=286]

Scarth left Gillingham in 1955 after scoring 24 goals in 138 League matches, and joined non-league Kent team Gravesend & Northfleet, where he was to remain until he retired from football in 1960. During his time there he scored 64 goals in 189 games and helped the club win the Southern League title in 1958.

His son Bobby Scarth later joined Tottenham as an apprentice but failed to make the breakthrough to the professional game.

References