 In 1936 , local businessman Leonard P. Thompson threatened to lead a breakaway from the amateur club to create an entirely separate professional club , Ipswich United . John Murray Cobbold , the club President , called together rival factions for a meeting at the Town Hall on 1 May 1936 , at which it was agreed that Ipswich Town should turn professional . The club was unanimously elected to the Southern League for the 1936 – 37 season and former Irish international footballer Mick O 'Brien was appointed as the club 's first professional manager . 
