Ted Ditchburn

Edwin George Ditchburn (24 October 1921 – 26 December 2005) was an English professional football goalkeeper who played for Northfleet United, Tottenham Hotspur, Romford, Brentwood Town and represented England on six occasions at international level.

Playing career After working in a paper mill, Ditchburn, a son of a professional boxer During World War II Ditchburn served with the RAF as a physical education instructor. He went on to play in an unbroken run of 247 matches between April 1948 and March 1954. An ever-present member of the side that won promotion as Division Two champions in 1949–50 and the First division league title the following year, he developed the 'short throw' that provided the starting block for Tottenham's famous push and run style of the early 1950s. A broken finger against Chelsea ended his career with Spurs in August 1958 after making 452 appearances in all competitions for the Lilywhites. In the following year he became player/manager of non-league Romford. Ditchburn gave up his manager role in 1962, but kept playing for the club till 1965 and featured in 147 matches for the Essex based club. He was a regular member of the Football League XI and the Football Combination XI.

Date Venue Opponent Result Competition 2 December 1948 Highbury Stadium, London 6–0 Friendly 13 May 1949 Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm 1–3 Friendly 8 June 1953 Polo Grounds, New York 6–3 Friendly 14 November 1956 Wembley Stadium, London 3–1 British Home Championship 28 November 1956 Wembley Stadium, London 3–0 Friendly 5 December 1956 Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton 5–2 1958 World Cup qualifier

Post–football career After his football career ended he established a toy shop, a sports outfitters and was involved in an office equipment venture. A keen cricketer and tennis player. He retired and settled in Romford and died on 26 December 2005.

Honours Tottenham Hotspur Football League First Division: 1950–51 Football League Second Division: 1949–50