George Beel (26 February 1900 – 30 December 1980) was a professional footballer who played as a
centre forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
. He is regarded as the best centre forward in
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
's history and holds their records for the most number of goals in a season and the highest number of league goals ever.
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Beel was based in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
and would regularly play for the club in the
Wartime league
The Wartime League was a football league competition held in England during World War II, which replaced the suspended Football League. The exclusion of the FA Cup in these years saw the creation of the Football League War Cup and it was a friendly ...
. During this period, he caught the attention of
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
and in 1919 they offered him a trial. He was not offered a contract and returned home to play for
Lincoln City in October the same year.
He scored 6 goals in 23 league games who then moved to South Wales after signing for
Merthyr Town
Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system.
The ...
.
He scored 22 goals in 54 appearances over two years in the newly formed
Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...
before crossing the border back to England, signing for newly promoted
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
. Chesterfield scored 68 goals in 1922-23, finishing fourth in their debut season, with Beel finishing joint top scorer in the
third division north
The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...
league with 23 goals in 35 games. Many first division scouts watched the Spireites, all interested in Beel.
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
made their move and signed him in 1923, in time for him to play in the last game of the season. Here he would spend nine years, going onto score 188 goals in 337 appearances in all competitions for the Clarets. In six of those seasons, he would finish as the club's top scorer.
He scored 19 league goals in his first season, then scored 24 over the next two seasons before having his best spell. He found the net 24 times in the
1926-27 season and then the
1927-28 season saw Beel score 35 goals in 39 appearances, a club record for most goals in a season that still remains today.
The next season he hit 30 goals in 41 matches, however the goals dried up in the 1929-30 season, managing only 10 in 33 games as Burnley suffered relegation.
Beel also had an impressive hat-trick record. He netted his first hat trick in a 5-1 home victory against
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
on 17 November 1923. He would have to wait until September 1926 before he scored another, in a 7-1 win away at
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
at
St James’ Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Park ...
. He only had to wait ten days this time before hitting another treble, at home against
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. He scored another hat-trick at St James Park two years later, this time in a 7-2 win over Newcastle United.
He scored ten league hat-tricks as he scored 142 goals in 252
first division league matches, which, at that time, made him one of three players as the 23rd highest scorer ever, in the first division. He would never play in the top flight again spending his last two seasons at Burnley in the
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, where he scored a further 37 goals. He scored his eleventh and last hat trick for Burnley in February 1931 against
Wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
in a 4-2 home win.
He returned to
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
Lincoln City, making 9 league appearances and scoring 6 goals for the Imps after signing at the back end of the 1932-33 season. The following season he was back in the
third division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
, this time at
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
in the northern division, where he scored 8 times in 20 league matches. He took the role of
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
at non-league
Tunbridge Wells Rangers and remained there the following season before retiring. Beel had scored 244 league goals in 457 league appearances in his career.
He later became the manager of
Maidstone United
Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The current club filled the void left by the ol ...
, remaining with the Kent club in various capacities, including junior coaching, until his death on 30 December 1980, aged 80.
Career statistics (incomplete)
References
Specific
General
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beel, George
English footballers
1900 births
1980 deaths
Lincoln City F.C. players
Merthyr Town F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Chesterfield F.C. players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
Tunbridge Wells F.C. players
English Football League players
Association football forwards
British military personnel of World War I