- Ted Purdon
Infobox Football biography
playername = Ted Purdon
fullname = Edward John Purdon
dateofbirth =March 1 ,1930
cityofbirth =Johannesburg
countryofbirth =South Africa
dateofdeath =April 29 ,2007 (aged 77)
cityofdeath =Toronto
countryofdeath =Canada
height = 6 ft (1.83 m)
position = Inside- or centre-forward
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1950–1954
1954–1957
1957–1958
1958–1959
1959–1960
1960–1961
1965
clubs = Birmingham City
Sunderland
Workington
Barrow
Bath City
Bristol RoversToronto City
Polish White Eagles (Toronto)Toronto Roma New York Ukrainians
caps(goals) = 64 0(27)
90 0(39)
33 00(9)
37 0(11)
04 00(0)Edward John "Ted" Purdon (
March 1 ,1930 –April 29 ,2007 ) was aSouth Africa n professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for Birmingham City in the Second Division ofthe 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. [cite book
author=Matthews, Tony | title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record | year=1995 | publisher=Breedon Books | location=Derby | pages=p. 189 |isbn=1-85983-010-2] He was also a goodcricketer , and was named once as twelfth man for Warwickshire.Matthews, p. 118.] He moved to Sunderland, then known as the "Bank of England" club because of their high transfer spending, [cite web
url=http://www.safc.com/history/?page_id=2728 |title=1950-1959 |work=Sunderland A.F.C. Club history |accessdate=2007-09-06] 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. [cite web
url=http://www.thestatcat.co.uk/Mplayers/MPG694.asp |title=Ted Purdon |work=StatCat: Sunderland AFC - The definitive, up-to-date, playing history |accessdate=2007-09-06] The first goal of the three, scored after only ten seconds, is believed to be the fastest goal in Sunderland's history. [cite web
url=http://www.safc.com/news/?page_id=12326 |title=Former SAFC striker dies |work=Sunderland A.F.C. |date=2007-05-01 |accessdate=2007-09-06] Playing alongside the likes ofLen Shackleton andBilly 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";
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. [cite news
url=http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2003/9/16/76912.html |title=A performance to forget |work=Northern Echo |date=2003-09-16 |accessdate=2007-09-06]He and his team-mates were punished by
the Football Association for receiving illegal payments from the club. [cite news
title=Three-Year Ban On Footballer – T. Ford "Handed £250 In Notes" |work=The Times |page=3 |format=Accessed via Times Digital Archive (subscription required) |date=1957-07-11 |accessdate=2007-09-06 |quote=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.] By the time this matter was investigated, Purdon had left Sunderland for Workington in the Third Division North. He played his part in theCumbria n club coming close to knocking Manchester United'sBusby Babes out of the 1958FA Cup . Workington took an early lead and Purdon came close to adding a second beforeDennis Viollet 's second-half hat-trick settled the matter. [cite news
title=Workington Falter In Second Half – Worried Champions |work=The Times |page=12 |format=Accessed via Times Digital Archive (subscription required) |date=1958-01-06 |accessdate=2007-09-06 |quote=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.]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. [cite news
url=http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2004/11/8/33592.html |title=Pools of wisdom from Hails |work=Northern Echo |date=2004-11-08 |accessdate=2007-09-06] In August 1959 he dropped intonon-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 toCanada in 1961, where he played forToronto City and other Canadian clubs, and also helpedNew York Ukrainians to win the 1965 U.S. Open Cup. [cite web
url=http://www.brfcforum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=64352 |title=Obituary: Ted Purdon |work=Bristol Rovers F.C. Fans Forum |author=Stephen Byrne |date=2007-07-19 | accessdate=2007-09-06] He later coached in Canada.Purdon was a founder member and honorary president of Sunderland's North American supporters' club. [cite web
url=http://home.cogeco.ca/~bcna_files/Newsletters/news_20050422.html |title=Another great day at Scallywags |work=Black Cats of North America |date=2005-04-22 |accessdate=2007-09-06] 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 thePremier League when he suffered astroke . He died in aToronto hospital two days later at the age of 77. [cite news
url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news?articleid=2842910 |title=Former club striker dies |work=Sunderland Echo |date=2007-05-01 |accessdate=2007-09-06]Honours
* with Birmingham City
** Club's top scorer 1954.
* with Bath City
** Southern League champions 1960.
* with New York Ukrainians
** U.S. Open Cup winners 1965.Notes
References
*cite book
author=Matthews, Tony | title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record | year=1995 | publisher=Breedon Books | location=Derby | isbn=1-85983-010-2
*cite web
url=http://www.fchd.info/ |title=Football Club History Database |author=Richard Rundle |accessdate=2007-09-06External links
[http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player2/tedpurdon.htm Profile] at [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/ Neil Brown's statistics site] .
Persondata
NAME = Purdon, Edward John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Purdon, Ted
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH =1930-03-01
PLACE OF BIRTH =Johannesburg ,South Africa
DATE OF DEATH =2007-04-29
PLACE OF DEATH =Toronto ,Canada
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