James Norman Corner, known as Norman Corner, was an English professional footballer who could play as either a centre half or a forward. Active in the Football League between 1964 and 1971, Corner made 160 appearances, scoring 32 goals died he was , 68.(16 February 1943 – 19 February 2011)
Early life
Corner was born in the mining village of Horden,[2] in County Durham, England, on 16 February 1943.[3] He attended Horden Roman Catholic School where he played centre half and wing half for the football team, and was selected for East Durham Boys.[3]Career
Corner played youth football with Horden Colliery Welfare before he signed amateur forms at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1961.[2][3] He spent 18 months with Wolves but was restricted to appearances in the Northern Intermediate League teams and returned to Horden Colliery Welfare.[2][3] In August 1962, he again attracted a league club and he signed for Hull City on professional forms.[2] Corner's debut for Hull came against Brentford in April 1964 when he scored twice in a 3–1 win at Griffin Park.[3] However, he played only five first team games, scoring four goals, in five years, during which time Hull turned down an approach from Brian Clough at Hartlepools United,[4] before Lincoln City signed Corner for a fee just short of £4,000.[2]He made his Lincoln debut on 7 October 1967 against Newport County to help his new side win 2–1.[3] In April 1968, he scored a hat-trick against Bradford (Park Avenue)[2] with all three goals coming from corners.[3] His final game with Lincoln came on 18 January 1969 in a 2–2 draw with Brentford.[3]
The same month, Bradford City paid a fee also close to £4,000 for Corner.[2] At 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), he was the tallest player to have played for the club at the time.[2] He made his debut in a Bradford derby against Park Avenue on 25 January 1969[2] and scored his first goal in the following game which finished in a 5–1 victory against Grimsby Town.[5] He helped City to 21 games undefeated to earn them promotion in his first season at the club during which period he scored eight goals.[2][5] In his second season, he tallied another five goals and also scored in a League Cup match against Sunderland.[5] In his third season, he moved into defence, but still scored in all four of the club's FA Cup games.[5] However, along with Bruce Bannister he was unable to agree personal terms with the club.[2] He appealed to an independent tribunal which proved to be unsuccessful but left the club on a free transfer to join Park Avenue in March 1972.[2] His last game for City was in December 1971, against Aston Villa.[5]
Corner had passed his coaching exams while with City, and started coaching at Park Avenue.[3]
In July 1973, he moved to South Shields.[2] He played one season with South Shields, before he took over as player-manager at Wingate in the Wearside League.[3] They came runners-up in the league and won a number of cup competitions under his guidance.[3]
He returned to Horden Colliery and scored their first goal in the Northern League following promotion from the Wearside League.[3] He remained at the club on the committee.[3]
He went onto begin his own business and coached in schools.[2]
Later life and death
After returning to the North-East, Corner lived in Horden, where he served on the committee at his former club Colliery Welfare, and later Peterlee.[4] He was married to Jean, with whom he had two children Susan and Steven.[4] Corner died on 19 February 2011, three days after his 68th birthday.[5] His funeral was held at Horden Catholic Church,[4] next to the Colliery Welfare's home ground.To see more of who died in 2010 click here
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