Born in Birchover,[2] Derbyshire, Shimwell was a trainee with Sheffield United in 1939, but failed to break into the first team before the outbreak of World War II.
His debut for Blackpool was supposed to be against Charlton Athletic, the day after his signing, but it was put back after his train got stuck in snow, which meant he did not arrive at The Valley until half-time.
Shimwell scored two important FA Cup goals for Blackpool; the first, against Chester City on 24 January 1948, was a 60-yard lob, the combination of a following wind and frozen pitch saw it bounce over the goalkeeper's head.
[1] A dislocated shoulder, suffered in a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Bloomfield Road on 17 September 1955, meant Shimwell was out for the rest of the season.
Indeed, he made only one more start for the Seasiders, on 19 January 1957, at home to Sunderland, but it gave the Blackpool faithful amongst the 18,702 present the chance to say farewell to the defender after thirteen years of service.