Frederick Charles George (born 10 October 1950) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. George began his career as a youngster with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and was part of their 1970–71 League and FA Cup Double-winning team, scoring the winning goal in the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

. In 1975, he left Arsenal to join up with

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. After playing for US club

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initiall ...

, in 1978 George joined

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, where he spent another three seasons. Whilst there he had a brief spell on loan with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

with whom he won the

1979 European Super Cup The 1979 European Super Cup was played between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona, with Nottingham Forest winning 2–1 on aggregate. Match details First leg Second leg See also * 1979 European Cup Final * 1979 European Cup Winners' Cup ...

. He then had a spell with Hong Kong side

Bulova Bulova is an American timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 and has been owned by Japanese multinational conglomerate Citizen Watch Co. since 2008. The company makes watches, clocks and accessories, and it is based in New York ...

before he returned to England for short stints with

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

and Derby County. George was capped once for the England national team.

Club career

Arsenal

Born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London, George attended the local Grafton,

Holloway Road Holloway Road is a road in London, in length. It is one of the main shopping streets in North London, and carries the A1 road as it passes through Holloway, in the London Borough of Islington. The road starts in Archway, near Archway Under ...

and Hugh Myddleton Schools. George supported

as a boy and played for Islington Schoolboys before joining Arsenal in May 1966. He turned professional in 1968 and made his first-team debut on 9 August 1969 against Everton, on the first day of the 1969–70 season; Arsenal lost the match 1–0. George became a regular in the side that season making a total of 39 appearances. He was particularly prolific in Arsenal's

1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the 12th Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal over two legs in the final against Anderlecht. It was the first of Arsenal's two European trophies, the other being the European Cup Winn ...

campaign, including against

Dinamo Bacau A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

and Ajax. He played in both legs of the final against

RSC Anderlecht ; french: Les Mauves et Blancs) , short name = R.S.C.A. , founded = , ground = Constant Vanden Stock Stadium , capacity = 22,500 , owntitle = Chairman , owner = Wouter Vandenhaute , manager = Brian Riemer ...

, which Arsenal won 4–3 on aggregate. George broke his ankle at the start of the following season in a collision with Everton goalkeeper

Gordon West Gordon West (24 April 1943 – 10 June 2012) was an English professional goalkeeper (association football), football goalkeeper. He won three international caps in a career that included a long stint at Everton F.C., Everton. Club career Bla ...

. After being out for five months he returned to play a significant part in Arsenal's run-in to the 1970–71

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

title, scoring five times in 17 appearances in the League. However, the highlight of his season came in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

; he scored in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds as well as proving the difference in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. With the score at 1–1 in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

, in the 111th minute George latched onto John Radford's square ball and scored a spectacular winner from 20 yards to win the match. He celebrated by lying flat on his back with arms aloft. With that Cup win, Arsenal completed their first

Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

win. George was prolific in the Gunners' FA Cup run in the 1971–72 season, scoring the equalizing goal in the Cup semi-final against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

which Arsenal won by a 2–1 margin at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

. In the

Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

at Wembley, Arsenal lost to Leeds United. The latter stages of George's career with Arsenal were hampered by injuries and a rebellious streak at odds with the club's management; during the 1971–72 season he was disciplined by the club twice, first after headbutting

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...

, and then for flicking a

V-sign The ''V sign'' is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a V shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented. When displ ...

's fans after scoring away at the

Baseball Ground The Baseball Ground (sometimes referred to as the BBG) was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 19 ...

. As the Double-winning side were gradually broken up, Arsenal began to descend down the table, and although George hit eleven goals in both 1971–72 and 1972–73 his form declined alongside Arsenal's; he only scored five times in 28 matches in 1973–74 and he was dropped from the first team in 1974–75 after falling out with manager Bertie Mee. By Christmas 1974, he had been transfer-listed, and he moved to Derby County in July 1975 for £100,000. In total he played 179 times for Arsenal and scored 49 goals. George was ranked at No. 9 in a feature of Arsenal's greatest 50 players of all time.

Derby County

George played his first game for Derby County in the Charity Shield of

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

which they won by a 2-0 margin over

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

. He spent three and a half years at Derby, where he memorably scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in a

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

first leg of October 1975. Derby eventually lost the cup tie by a margin of 6–5 on aggregate in all. He later scored a hat-trick for Derby against

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

in the first leg of a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

tie in September 1976. Derby eventually altogether scored 12 goals in this match of European competition, becoming the first British club to ever do so. He also had a loan spell at St George's Budapest in Australia from Derby. George, whose exploits with the Rams earned him the chant, "Charlie, Charlie, the King of Derby", remains a legendary and beloved figure among many of the fans of Derby County.

Later career

After Derby, he went on to play for the

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. At the Kicks, George scored what was an NASL record for the fastest playoff goal in a 9–2 thumping of the New York Cosmos. In all he made 18 appearances while scoring 9 goals in the 1978 season for the club. George then returned to England with

in December 1978. He then had a short period on loan to

in January 1980, where he played four games. One of these included the final of the

1979 UEFA Super Cup The 1979 European Super Cup was played between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona, with Nottingham Forest winning 2–1 on aggregate. Match details First leg Second leg See also *1979 European Cup Final *1979 European Cup Winners' Cup Fi ...

against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

, where he scored the only goal in the home leg as Forest won 2–1 on aggregate. George could not agree an extension to his loan at Forest and later returned to Southampton, playing his last league game for them on 14 March 1981 against

. In the summer of 1981 he left the club to move to Bulova in Hong Kong. He made a total of 52 appearances for Southampton in which he scored 14 goals. A year later, in 1982, he returned to England to have a short time at

and subsequently rejoined Derby County for a second spell. He also had a brief spell later with Scottish side Dundee United. He then linked up with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on a short-term contract prior to the 1983–84 season, but made no competitive appearances and retired soon after. In April 1980, George lost a finger in a lawnmower accident.

After football

After retiring from football he moved to

New Milton New Milton is a market town in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymington and Christchurch, 6 miles (10 km) away. History Ne ...

, Hampshire to run a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. He later had joint ownership for some years in a garage business. George is now employed by Arsenal in roles within corporate hospitality at the club.

International career

George was capped five times for England at under-23 level. Whilst with Derby, he also won a solitary cap at senior level for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, playing for 60 minutes against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

on 8 September 1976, out of position on the left wing, but fell out with coach

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...

after being substituted and he was never picked again.

Personal life

At the age of 19, George married Susan Farge and with her he has a daughter, Kaana. George was mentioned by musical act Steven North and the Flat Back Four in their songs entitled "The Charlie George Calypso" and "I Wish I Could Play Like Charlie George" respectively.

Honours

Club

Arsenal *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1970–71 *

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...

: 1969–70 Derby County *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

Nottingham Forest *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Individual

* Derby County Player of the Year: 1976

References

;Specific ;General * *

External links

Arsenal Profile
* ttps://www.arsenal.com/news/features/20160912/charlie-george Defining Moments: Charlie GeorgeArsenal.com
Sunday Times article, Best & Worst: Charlie GeorgeBBC Sport Article: George on Highbury, "End of an era"Charlie George at sporting-heroes.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Charlie 1950 births Living people Footballers from Islington (district) English footballers England international footballers England under-23 international footballers Association football forwards Arsenal F.C. players Derby County F.C. players St George FC players Minnesota Kicks players Southampton F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Bulova SA players AFC Bournemouth players Dundee United F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players English Football League players National Soccer League (Australia) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Hong Kong First Division League players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers FA Cup final players Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong