George Eardley Gibson (29 August 1912 – 30 December 1990) was an English 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 an inside left. Gibson was an early pioneer of British overseas footballers, playing in the French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

in the inter-war years. Gibson eventually went on to play football in four countries, including his native England. Whilst Gibson played professionally in England and France and played 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 ...

and

he was never capped internationally.

Early career

Born in

Biddulph Biddulph is a town in Staffordshire, England, north of Stoke-on-Trent and south-east of Congleton, Cheshire. Origin of the name Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon/Old English ''bī dylfe'' = "beside the pit or quarry". It may also ...

, Staffordshire, Gibson began his career with

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

before being released and joining

Frickley Colliery Frickley & South Elmsall Colliery was opened by the Carlton Main Colliery Company Ltd in 1903 in South Elmsall, in Yorkshire, England. Frickley & South Elmsall Colliery The first sod was cut on 23 April 1903 of shafts No.1 and No.2 and the ...

who gave him the opportunity to play regularly in the Midland League. In 1932 he signed professionally for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

where he made two appearances in the

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 ...

The Stat Cat George Gibson
/ref> before moving to Leicester City, for whom he also played in

Foreign career

In 1935 Gibson became one of the early English professional footballers to play abroad when he signed for

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, who had just been promoted to the top division in French football. After a year in France Gibson moved on to clubs in Northern Ireland and Ireland before returning to France to join RC Roubaix, who had just secured top-flight football.

Return to England

Towards the end of his career Gibson joined

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

, where he also represented the cricket club as a fast bowler and batsman and briefly returned to the Football League with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

where he made three league appearances.Frost, p. 382

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, George 1912 births 1990 deaths Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent People from Biddulph English footballers Association football inside forwards Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Frickley Athletic F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Valenciennes FC players Lisburn Distillery F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Midland Football League players English Football League players Ligue 1 players English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France