Player #453
From:
To:
Career Status:
1955-56
1964-65
Retired
Nigel Sims
Seasons Quick-View
1956-64 🕒 310 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 - | #453 |
Season :
1955-56 | 1956-57 | 1957-58 | 1958-59 | 1959-60 | 1960-61 | 1961-62 | 1962-63 | 1963-64 |
Age :
24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
Division :
D1 | D1 | D1 | D1 | D2 | D1 | D1 | D1 | D1 |
Squad # :
# | # | # | # | # | # | # | # | # |
Appearances :
9 | 47 | 41 | 47 | 44 | 40 | 34 | 15 | 29 |
Starts :
9 | 47 | 41 | 47 | 44 | 40 | 34 | 15 | 29 |
Substitute :
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unused :
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goals :
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Assists :
- | - | - | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Involvements :
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Games / Goal :
0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Bookings :
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sendings Off :
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
FAC: FA Cup; FL: Football League; D1: Division 1; D2: Division 2; D3: Division 3; PL: Premier League; CH: Championship
David Nigel Sims
Birth Date
9 August 1931
Birth Place
Coton-in-the-Elms, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Birth Country
England
🏴
Citizenship
🏴
England
Villa Youth
n/a
Previous Teams (incl. Youth)
Coton Swifts
Stapenhill FC
1948-56 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Football League First Division
🕒 38 | ⚽ 0 | (League)
Original Transfer
Aged
24
From
Wolverhampton Wanderers
For
Free
On
March 1956
Under
Eric Houghton
Returning Transfer 1
Aged
n/a
From
n/a
For
n/a
On
n/a
Under
n/a
Returning Transfer 2
Aged
n/a
From
n/a
For
n/a
On
n/a
Under
n/a
Transfer Notes
Loans Out
None
Transfer Out 1
Aged
To
For
On
Under
33
Peterborough United
Free
September 1964
Joe Mercer 🏴
Transfer Out 2
Aged
To
For
On
Under
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Transfer Out 3
Aged
To
For
On
Under
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Subsequent Clubs
1963 Toronto City
Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League
1964-65 Peterborough United
Football League Third Division
🕒 16 | ⚽ 0 | (League)
1967 Toronto Falcons
National Professional Soccer League
1967 Toronto Italia
National Professional Soccer League
🕒 2 | ⚽ 0 | (League)
1967 Retired aged 36
Died
6 January 2018, Aged 86
Nigel Sims
Villa Career
1956-64 | Free |
Football League First Division, Second Division
🕒 310 | ⚽ 0 | 🔥 - | #453 |
Seasons Active | In Fee
Active in League
🕒 Games | Starts (Subs) | ⚽ Goals | 🔥 Assists | 🇺 Unused | Player Number |
🟩 Won | 🟨 Drew | 🟥 Lost |
Cards 🟨 Booking | 🟥 Sending Off |
Goalkeepers Only 🥅 Goals Conceded | ⛔ Clean Sheets |
Played Under
Eric Houghton 🏴
Joe Mercer 🏴
Promoted to First Team Squad
In
19 March 1956
Under
Eric Houghton 🏴
First Squad
19 March 1956
Manager
Eric Houghton 🏴
Debut
Season
Date
Match
Age
Manager
1955-56
19 March 1956
Burnley (h), Division One
24
Eric Houghton 🏴
Final Appearance
Season
Date
Match
Aged
Manager
1963-64
18 January 1964
Chelsea (a), Division One
32
Joe Mercer 🏴
Final Squad
18 January 1964
Manager
Joe Mercer 🏴
Honours
1956-57 FA Cup Winners |
1960-61 League Cup Winners |
Height
Foot
International Record
National Team
Not selected
Years | Caps | Starts (Sub) | Goals |
Not selected
Caps with Villa
Nigel Sims
Player #453 for Aston Villa, David Nigel Sims, known as Nigel Sims, played as a goalkeeper for the club.
Nigel played for Villa between 1955-56 and 1963-64 making 309 appearances.
Nigel was born in Coton-in-the-Elms, Burton-on-Trent, just 25 miles from Villa Park, on 9 August 1931 and made his debut appearance for Villa on Monday, 19 March 1956 aged 24.
Villa had signed Nigel from Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in March 1956 and was the 54th custodian of the Villa goal in League & Cup football.
In his own words Nigel recalled “Villa were struggling at the wrong end of the table but it was a chance I felt I had to take as I had been at Wolves seven years.”
Unsurprisingly with an attitude like that Nigel became a big favourite with the Villa crowd
During his time with Villa Nigel won the 1957 FA Cup and was an ever present in the victorious 1956-57 FA Cup campaign including the 2-1 triumph over Manchester United in the final held at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 99,225 when Peter McParland scored twice to win Villa the Cup for a record seventh time.
As Nigel recollected “We were the underdogs but started really well against them. However, the game went off the boil after Ray Wood got injured. When Tommy Taylor scored to bring them back to 2-1 it was just sheer panic right up to the end.”
Nigel also helped Villa reach the FA Cup Semi Final in 1958-59 but over his 47 appearances for the club that season he also had the misfortune to experience relegation to the Second Division.
After 250 games as Villa boss Eric Houghton left his post after 20 games of the 1958-59 season with Villa in an already precarious league position and was replaced by Joe Mercer, and he was someone who Nigel just didn’t get on with.
“I still bear physical scars from some injuries that he made me play with. I didn’t agree with his tactics and sure enough we went down to Division Two playing full backs such as Stan Lynn at centre forward.”
Nigel however proved a key player in Villa’s Division Two Championship winning season the following year and went on to help Villa consolidate top ten Division One finishes in the early 60’s as well as reaching another FA Cup Semi Finals and winning a League Cup Runners Up medal in 1962-63.
Nigel won his second trophy with the club when he played 9 games in Villa’s victorious run to the inaugural League Cup title in 1960-61 and helped Villa vanquish Rotherham United over the two legged final held in 1961-62 when he kept goal in the first leg.
Across his 309 games for Villa, Nigel conceded 463 goals at a ratio of 1.50 goals per game whilst keeping 75 clean sheets. Nigel recollected:
“Without being brash, I know for the period 1956-1963 I was as good as anyone, if not the best. I knew I wouldn’t play for England as no player who left Wolves ever got selected (Arthur Oakley of Wolves was the Chairman of Selectors). All I got in terms of representative honours was two Football League games against Ireland in 1957 and 1960. Frank Swift, possibly one of the top three goalkeepers of all time, was constantly encouraging me through his regular comments in the News of the World.”
Nigel played his final game for Villa on Saturday, 18 January 1964 aged 32 before moving on to Peterborough United in September 1964.
Nigel had played his Villa career under managers Eric Houghton and Joe Mercer.
Nigel passed away in Gorseinon, Swansea on 6 January 2018 aged 86.
A note on player numbering
Players are allotted a number following their debut, and those making debuts in the same match are listed in order of position played
i.e. Goalkeeper -> Defender -> Midfielder -> Forward.
Players making debuts as substitutes in the same game are listed in the order in which they went on.
Matches which have been expunged from the records, including those which were abandoned and the first three fixtures of 1939-40 before the outbreak of the Second World War, are not included. Neither are the unofficial games which were played during the war years before the FA Cup resumed in 1946.