Former City captain Jimmy Grummett Jr, who passed away this week, held a unique distinction of wearing every shirt number for the Imps - in the days before squad numbers - even once playing in goal.
The son of a former Imps player, also called Jimmy who played 179 League and FA Cup games scoring 12 times in the 1940s and early 1950s, Jimmy Grummett grew up in Lincoln and had begun an apprenticeship at Ruston Bucyrus after leaving school before signing as an amateur for City in 1962.
In 1963 he made three appearances for England at U18 level and signed as a professional later that year, although he remained a part-time player until 1966. He made his City first-team debut in a League Cup tie at Millwall in November 1963, although it was not until the following April that he made his Football League debut at Oxford.
He became a regular in the first-team in March 1966 and from then until May 1968 appeared in 108 consecutive Football League games, a total only exceeded by five other players. He eventually totalled 246 + 5 Football League appearances for City, scoring 19 times with a further 43 cup (FA/League/Lincolnshire) appearances bringing 10 goals, including the equaliser in the League Cup tie against Newcastle United in 1967 which City eventually won as the club reached the fourth round of the competition for the first, and until this season only, time before leaving to join Aldershot in July 1971.
Although primarily a left half, Jimmy’s versatility was such that in his time at City he wore every shirt number, at a time when the number usually represented the position on the pitch, from 2-12 at least once in a first team game and even took over in goal after John Kennedy was injured in a Sincil Bank FA Cup replay against Chester in 1968.
He spent two seasons in Hampshire, helping Aldershot to promotion in 1972/73, before spells at Chester in 1973 and Rochdale between 1973 and 1975, along with a summer spent in America with Denver Dynamo, preceded him leaving the professional game to join Boston United and later playing for Rhyl, Porthmadoc and Witton Albion.
Residing in Doncaster since 1979, he later worked as sales manager for cosmetic companies such as Vicky and Yves St Laurent before retirement in his late sixties.
Main Sources: Lincoln City v Darlington programme 09/10/1999, www.enfa.co.uk, Who’s Who of Lincoln City 1892-1994
