Jim Langley

Amateur

Langley started his football career as an amateur playing for a number of non-league sides in the London area whilst still a teenager. At the age of fourteen he was the youngest player to play for Yiewsley. His ability was soon attracting attention and in 1946 Langley was given his dream move – First Division side Brentford signing him when he was still only 17. Langley's stay with the Bees did not last long however - his height of 5 feet 9 inches apparently counting against him with manager Harry Curtis - and the Londoner was soon looking for another club. As with many youngsters his age, Langley was called upon to do national service and it was while he was still in the army that Langley joined Guildford City in 1948. After a season playing with the Southern League side as an amateur, during which they narrowly avoided relegation, Langley turned professional in 1949.

Guildford City

Langley was a huge crowd favourite at Guildford City, helping them to two Southern League cup finals in 1951 and 1952 during his four seasons there. After the near catastrophic 1948–49 season he also helped the Surrey side to record a top ten finish in each of the following three seasons. It was hence with great reluctance that Guildford were forced to sell their prized asset to Second Division Leeds United for £2,000 in the summer of 1952 after slipping some £12,000 into debt. He was not forgotten by the club however and in the mid 1970s when Guildford City merged with…

Langley's career for his national team was short and sweet and he perhaps should have had more time to prove himself. Then manager Walter Winterbottom selected Langley for the home international against Scotland in April 1958 after his impressive first season with Fulham and he helped the side to a 4–0 victory and he played in the 2–1 victory over Portugal at Wembley, though he did miss a penalty in that game. However a 5–0 defeat by Yugoslavia in the next game meant that he was never called up again after an international career of barely three weeks.

Langley left the role as Hillingdon Borough player-manager after the FA Trophy final in May 1971, becoming a trainer-coach at Crystal Palace on 23 August 1971. He returned to Hillingdon Borough as manager on 27 November 1973 serving until August 1975. He was unable to prevent the club's relegation in the 1973–74 season but oversaw their return to the Southern League Premier Division in the following season. In early March 1977 he became manager of Dulwich Hamlet where he strived, ultimately fruitlessly, to prevent their relegation into the Second Division of the Isthmian League. He returned to Hillingdon Borough as manager for the final time in the 1977–78 season before becoming general manager of the club in May 1978. After leaving Hillingdon Borough Football Club, Langley worked in the hospitality sector as a managing steward at West Drayton Royal British Legion and later at Sipson Royal British Legion, where he was responsible for overseeing the operation of the clubs, including their bars and premises. He was known for his distinctive wide-legged gait, which has been attributed to years of playing football. He became Club President of his Grandson Lee Langley's boyhood club; Staines Town. Lee attempted to follow in Jimmy's footsteps, trialling for Brentford, before becoming a trainee at QPR, interest in the young, but tough central midfielder also came from Chelsea; but within a month of this interest he tore a cruciate ligament and his time at the pro clubs came to an…

Queens Park Rangers

Football League Cup: 1966–67