Biography
Half back Stanley Dimbleby was born at South Killingholme near Immingham, then a bucolic North Lincolnshire village, now a commuter settlement fringed by the Lindsey Oil Refinery. He came to the attention of Hull City while playing local football for his village team, standing six feet tall at 18 years of age he cut an imposing figure.
Dimbleby joined the Tigers in August 1935 and spent much of his first season in the Reserves. He was given his first team debut late in his first season at left half by newly re-appointed manager David Menzies, but City were struggling at the foot of the Division Two table and about to be relegated. Retained for the 1936/37 season, Stan was used as a capable deputy for injured colleagues across the half back line – four starts at left half early in the season were followed by three starts at centre half in October 1936 when first choice stopper and club captain William Tabram was absent through injury. Dimbleby started six games over the Christmas and New Year period as the Directors took over team selection duties after manager Menzies tragically died in post in in mid-October 1936. But when Ernest Blackburn was appointed manager in January 1937 Dimbleby was quickly moved back to the Reserves and was handed a free transfer that summer.
Dimbleby joined Division Three North rivals Port Vale in June 1937 and he made two starts at left half in the opening weeks of the season. A knee injury sustained during a Reserves match in November 1937 kept him on the sidelines and when a return to the Vale Reserves team on New Years Day 1938 ended with his withdrawal after ten minutes, it was decided that a cartilage operation was required. By April 1938 he needed a second operation, but a month later he was released by Port Vale and his footballing days were over.
By 1939 he had returned to the family home in South Killingholme and was working as a harbourman. Later in life he moved back to Hull area and died suddenly in his Kirkella bungalow in October 1992.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 27 November 1916, South Killingholme
Hull City First Game: 7 March 1936, Southampton A (Division Two), 19 years, 101 days old
Hull City Final Game: 9 January 1937, Accrington Stanley H (Division Three North), 20 years, 43 days old
Clubs
South Killingholme, Hull City (1935-1937), Port Vale (1937-1938)
Hull City Record
Career: 20 apps, 0 goals
Stan Dimbleby| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935/36 | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1936/37 | 13 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |