Hammond Jim Image 1 Sussex 1935

Description

Brighton, Sussex born Herbert Edward “Jim” Hammond played cricket for Sussex from 1928 to 1946, playing 196 first class matches for the county. An all round cricketer, he batted right-handed, finishing with a batting average of 18.73 after scoring 4,251 runs, with a highest score of 103 not out and 19 other fifties. Bowling medium pace, he took 428 wickets at a bowling average of 28.71, taking a career best 8-76, with one ten wicket match, taking 5 wickets on 16 occasions. He later became an umpire after his playing retirement.

Jim Hammond was also a successful professional footballer. A centre forward, Hammond played junior football for Robin’s Athletic in 1926 and Lewes in 1927 from where he signed for Third Division (South) Fulham in 1928 and made his Football League debut at Merthyr Town in March 1929. His career best 33 goals in the 1931-32 when he was an ever present. including 4 goals in a 10-2 victory over Torquay United in September 1931 and a hat-trick against Thames Association in March 1932, propelled Fulham to the Third Division (South) Championship in 1932, and he continued to be a consistent scorer in the Second Division until his retirement through injury at the end of 1937-38, by which time he had scored 151 goals in 342 games over ten seasons for The Cottagers.

In December 1932 he was selected for the England squad for their 4-3 win over Austria at Stamford Bridge but he was a non playing reserve and never won a full England cap, although he won an England Amateur international cap when he played in a 2-1 win over Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff in March 1928.

He scored 4 times for Fulham against Sheffield United in April 1935, and he scored his last hat-trick of eight trebles for The Cottagers against Coventry City in December 1937. He was the club’s leading goalscorer in 1931, 1934, 1935, and 1936 but surprisingly not in 1932 when he was still some way short of Frank Newton’s tremendous 47 goal haul. His nickname was “The Galloping Hairpin”.