Biography
Outside left Sidney John “Jack” Koffman joined the Tigers in June 1946 as manager Major Frank Buckley frantically built a squad from scratch to compete in the first season for seven years after World War Two. Jack had four starts for Hull City at the start of the season, including the first game at Boothferry Park at the end of August 1946, but quickly fell out of favour and moved on.
Koffman had been a young player for Audenshaw United, Bolton Wanderers and Manchester United during the wartime leagues of 1944 and 1945, scoring for the Red Devils against Huddersfield in September 1945. He also helped out Burnley in April 1945 and Stalybridge Celtic early in 1946, at a time when player registrations to specific clubs were suspended.
In September 1946 Koffman left City for Northwich Victoria and in April 1947 he switched to Congleton Town, where he again impressed with his performances at outside left. At the start of 1947/48 season Jack gave the Football League another try, spending September 1947 at Oldham Athletic but after 3 starts he encountered a similar outcome to his time at Hull City and moved on. He returned briefly to Congleton before joining Ashton United in December 1947. He ended playing for Ashton in October 1948 and returned to hairdressing, his primary trade, in the Cheetham district of Manchester. Later Koffman lived in Camberley in Surrey and sold razor blades, in October 1965 he was found guilty of selling deficient blades to unwitting shopkeepers. Koffman died in Camberley in May 1977.
Koffman was briefly featured in a 2012 book by Anthony Clavane called “Does Your Rabbi Know You’re Here? – the story of the involvement of Jews as players, administrators and owners in English professional football”. His daughter Sylvia was a professional singer and dancer who appeared in the TV show Drumbeat in the late 1950s.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 3 August 1920, Prestwich
Hull City First Game: 31 August 1946, Lincoln City H (Division Three North), 26 years, 28 days old
Hull City Final Game: 21 September 1946, Chester A (Division Three North), 26 years, 49 days old
Clubs
Audenshaw United, Bolton Wanderers (1945), Manchester United (1945-1946), Stalybridge Celtic (1946), Hull City (1946), Northwich Victoria (1946-1947), Congleton Town (1947), Oldham Athletic (1947), Congleton Town (1947), Ashton United (1947-1948)
Hull City Record
Career: 4 apps, 0 goals
Jack Koffman| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946/47 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |