Club Career
After Armfield's family moved to Blackpool from Denton, he was spotted in a practice match at Bloomfield Road by then-Tangerines manager Joe Smith. Armfield, who played on the left wing for that game, scored all of Blackpool's goals in a 4–1 victory. Impressed, Smith offered him a trial. On 27 December 1954, Armfield made his Blackpool debut at Portsmouth. Armfield recalled of the game: "That League debut at Fratton Park was not, I fear, a very conspicuous one for me. I found myself up against Gordon Dale, a very clever and strong winger with plenty of experience. He was far too good and we lost 3–0. Gordon really gave me the run-around, and I realised just how much I had to learn. They were a very good team in those days, and they scored a goal in about the first two minutes — and I hadn't touched the ball. We were three down after fifteen minutes."
He was part of the Blackpool side that finished in what is to date still the club's highest-ever League position when they finished as First Division (then the top flight in England) runners-up in the 1955–56 season.
Armfield was voted Young Player of the Year in 1959. In 1966, he narrowly lost out to Bobby Charlton for the Footballer of the Year award and had to content himself with being Blackpool's Player of the Year. The Seasiders achieved little success in his seventeen years with them, the club having won the FA Cup the year prior to his arrival. The exception was promotion to the First Division in 1969–70.
Armfield was awarded a testimonial match, played on 2 September 1970, his 35th birthday, and thousands turned out to pay tribute to him. He played his final game for Blackpool on 1 May 1971, in front of a crowd of over 30,000 against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road, in what would be the last game played by Blackpool in the top flight of English football for almost 40 years. He came back from a ten-game injury lay-off to make his swan song appearance.
Read more about this topic: Jimmy Armfield
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