George Henry Camsell (27 November 1902 – 7 March 1966)
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 scored a club record 325 league goals in 419 games for
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
, and 18 goals in nine appearances 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 ...
. His 59 goals in one season (1926–27) for Middlesbrough was a
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 ...
record at the time, and has only been bettered once within the English game by
Dixie Dean
William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in ...
of
Everton in 1927–28.
His nine hat-tricks that season remains a Football League record. He also holds the
highest goals-to-games ratio for England of anyone who has played more than a single international.
Club career
Born in
Framwellgate Moor
Framwellgate Moor is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated to the north of Durham, and is adjacent to Pity Me and Newton Hall. It has a population of 5,404, ,
Durham City in 1902, Camsell worked as a miner and played for
Durham City.
[ He caught the attention of ]Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
after scoring 21 goals in 20 games in a season and signed for Middlesbrough on 6 October 1925 for the sum of £500.[ His debut was against ]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 ...
on 31 October 1925.[ He scored three goals for Middlesbrough in the 1925–26 season.]
The Middlesbrough club record of 59 League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
goals in 37 games and 63 goals in all competitions in one season is held by Camsell. He accomplished this feat in the 1926–27 season, his first full season with Middlesbrough.[ After he had initially struggled for game time and almost joined ]Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
,[ he made his first appearance of the season on 18 September 1926 after Jimmy McClelland had suffered an injury.] Having failed to score on that day, Camsell would only fail to score on two more occasions in the following 25 matches, taking in a run of 12 successive matches in which he scored at least once. He scored five on Christmas Day, 1926 against Manchester City
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 Salford to the west. The tw ...
and two more in the return fixture on 27 December. In February 1927, Camsell broke the record for league goals in a season by a player, having overtaken Jimmy Cookson
James Cookson (6 December 1904 – 14th December 1970) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward in the Football League for Manchester City, Chesterfield, West Bromwich Albion, Plymouth Argyle and Swindon Town.
Life and care ...
's haul of 44 (for Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
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* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
in 1925–26). 59 remains the second-highest number of league goals scored and the equal highest number in all competitions in one English league season, behind Dixie Dean
William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in ...
's 60 league and 100 total a year later.[ The nine hat-tricks Camsell scored that season remains an English record for most in a League season.]
Camsell was Middlesbrough's top scorer in each of his first ten full seasons, and he bagged at least 30 in each of the first five as well as the tenth. Between 1925 and 1939, Camsell scored 345 goals in 453 games for Middlesbrough, including 325 league goals, (the fifth-highest English total of all-time).[ His goals included 24 ]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 ...
s for the club.[ He played his last League game for Middlesbrough against ]Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
at Ayresome Park on 10 April 1939, in a 3–2 victory. Camsell scored the opening goal.[ He continued to play for them into 1940 following the cessation of the ]1939–40 Football League
The abandoned 1939–40 season would have been the 48th season of The Football League. The kick-off in all divisions took place on Saturday 26 August 1939.Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald ...
season 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 ...
, playing in wartime competitions.
International career
Camsell also won nine cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
s 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 ...
, scoring 18 goals. This is the highest goals-to-games ratio of anyone who has played more than a single international.[ His goals included a hat-trick in a 6–0 win against ]Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
on 20 November 1929 in the 1930 British Home Championship
Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 '' Ab urbe condi ...
and four goals in a match against Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
on 11 May 1929. He scored in every match he played for England; his nine consecutive scoring appearances are second only to Steve Bloomer
Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...
.[
]
Coaching career
During the Second World War, Camsell worked in local factories.[ After the war, he worked for Middlesbrough's backroom staff, firstly as a scout, where he discovered a young ]Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
.[ He then became a coach and eventually the club's assistant secretary.][
]
Death and legacy
Camsell retired in 1963 and died in 1966, aged 63, shortly before that year's World Cup.[ A suite at Middlesbrough's ]Riverside Stadium
The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...
is named after him and in 2015, calls began for a statue of Camsell to be placed outside the stadium, joining those of George Hardwick
George Francis Moutry Hardwick (2 February 1920 – 19 April 2004) was an English footballer, manager and coach. During his time as an active player, he was a left-sided defender for Middlesbrough. He was also a member of the England national f ...
and Wilf Mannion
Wilfrid James Mannion (16 May 1918 – 14 April 2000) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward, making over 350 senior appearances for Middlesbrough. He also played international football for England. With his blonde ...
.[ A club spokesman said that such an honour could not be ruled out, adding: "As a club we honour and respect our former heroes and George Camsell is certainly one of those." A statue of George Camsell was subsequently erected outside the stadium, which was unveiled to the public on 2 September 2022. It is in front of the West Stand entrance.][
]
References
External links
Profile on www.englandfc.com
Profile on www.englandstats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camsell, George
1902 births
1966 deaths
English footballers
Association football forwards
Esh Winning F.C. players
Tow Law Town F.C. players
Durham City A.F.C. players
Middlesbrough F.C. players
English Football League players
English Football League representative players
England international footballers
Place of death missing
Footballers from County Durham
Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff
Association football coaches
Association football scouts