Jimmy Woolf
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Levi James Woolf | ||
| Date of birth | 27 January 1916 | ||
| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| Date of death | 27 May 2003 (aged 87) | ||
| Place of death | Durban, South Africa | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Inside-right | ||
| Youth career | |||
| J.R.A.S. Johannesburg | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1937–1938 | Southampton | 1 | (0) |
| 1938–1939 | Guildford City | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Levi James Woolf (27 January 1916 – 27 January 2003)[1] was a South African professional footballer who played one match in the Football League for Southampton in 1937.[2]
Woolf was born in Johannesburg, South Africa but was determined to become a professional footballer in England.[3] In September 1937, he travelled to Britain on board the Union-Castle liner, Balmoral Castle; a steward on the liner heard of Woolf's intentions and sent a telegram to the manager of Southampton Football Club, Tom Parker. Parker arranged for Woolf to be met after he disembarked at Southampton Docks and he was given a trial.[3]
He was signed by the club after the trial match and was soon playing regularly at inside right in the reserves. On 11 December 1937, he made his first-team debut when he took the place of Ray Parkin at inside-right for the Second Division match against Tottenham Hotspur, with Parkin moving to centre-forward in place of Benny Gaughran who had recently been sold to Sunderland. Although the match was won 2–1, with Parkin scoring both Saints' goals,[4] Woolf was not a great success and he returned to the reserves.[3]
In the summer of 1938, he joined Guildford City of the Southern League.[3] At the end of his first season at Guildford, they finished as Southern League runners-up.[5]