George Fredrick Blackburn (3 August 1899 – 7 March 1957) was a

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 ...

in the early years of professional football in England. A

left-half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he made over 250 appearances 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 ...

during his career and won one cap 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 ...

in May 1924.

Early life

Blackburn was born in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

and lived in Sandringham Road as a child, attending Pound Lane School. He was one of six children. His father was a brass finisher.

Club career

Blackburn started his career at Hampstead Town, now known as

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

. He signed for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

as an amateur in December 1920 and went on to play over 100 games, including their 2–0 defeat to

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 ...

in the

1924 FA Cup Final The 1924 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Aston Villa at Wembley. Newcastle won 2–0, with the goals scored by Neil Harris and Stan Seymour. The match has become commonly known as the "Rainy Day Final" due to the weathe ...

. He left Villa in June 1926 in a swap deal which saw

Joe Nicholson Joseph Robinson Nicholson (born 4 June 1898 in Ryhope, died 1974) was an English professional footballer. He is most famous for playing for Cardiff City in the 1925 FA Cup Final. Career After playing for local sides in his hometown of Ryhope ...

join Villa and Blackburn join

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. He made his debut for Cardiff in a 4–3 defeat to

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 ...

and went on to establish himself in the side, although he was not included in the squad when the side won 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 ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

. His only goal for the club came in February 1930 when he scored against

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 ...

during a 4–2 win. He left the club in 1931, along with

Harry Wake Henry Williamson Wake (born 21 January 1901 — 1981) was an English people, English professional footballer. He is most famous for playing for Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City in the 1925 FA Cup Final and being part of the team that won the 1927 ...

, to join

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. He later went to play and coach

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

from 1932 to 1934.

International career

Blackburn received his first call up to the

national side in April 1924 for a match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in the

1923–24 British Home Championship The 1923–24 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played during the 1923–24 season between the British Home Nations. It was won by the excellent Welsh team of the early 1920s who achieved a whitewash of the other t ...

but did not feature for the side. One month later, on 17 May 1924, Blackburn made his one and only appearance for England in a 3–1 victory over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Stade Pershing Stade Pershing () was a multi-purpose stadium in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris, France. It was used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and hosted the final of the Coupe de France on four occasions. It hosted the Inter-Allied Games in ...

. After his retirement, Blackburn became a trainer at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was handed control of the first team training duties by secretary-manager

Bill Camkin William Alexander Camkin (1894 – 26 April 1956) was a billiard hall owner who came to prominence in the early years of the World Snooker Championship, when many of the tournament's matches were held at his clubs. He was involved in various aspe ...

toward the end of his spell in charge.

Honours

Aston Villa *

: runner-up

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

Cardiff City *

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 ...

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

: - 1927, 1930; runner-up 1929

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, George 1899 births 1957 deaths English footballers Association football midfielders England international footballers English Football League players Aston Villa F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. non-playing staff Hendon F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players FA Cup Final players