George Henry Bateman (born 1865 – 1953) was an English

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 for

Burslem Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

, and

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

in the 1880s and 1890s.

Career

Bateman was a key member of

, helping men such as Enoch Hood found the club. He was a member of the club's first recorded line-up on 9 December 1882, in a 5–1 defeat at

. He was a member of the sides that lifted the North Staffordshire Charity Challenge Cup in 1883 and Burslem Challenge Cup in 1885 and also shared the former trophy in 1885. In the summer of 1886 he left for

neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

Stoke, despite having contractual obligations for Vale. A court case went to Burslem County Court in November 1886, but the two clubs agreed that Bateman could play for Stoke until the summer of 1887, at which point he would return to Vale. He was a first-team regular for the Burslem club from 1887 to 1890. In the summer of 1890, he returned to Stoke. He played once for the "Potters" in the Football Alliance in 1890–91 and featured five times in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in 1891–92. He later played for

. He had scored five goals in 146 games for the Vale, most of which were

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Burslem Port Vale *North Staffordshire Charity Challenge Cup: 1883, 1885 (shared) *Burslem Challenge Cup: 1885

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bateman, George People from Wolstanton Footballers from Staffordshire English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Stoke City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Football Alliance players English Football League players 1865 births 1953 deaths