George Richard Hilsdon (10 August 1885 – 10 September 1941) 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 ...

who began his career at

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 ...

, making his debut in the

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

season. His brother Jack Hilsdon also played for West Ham at this time. Hilsdon transferred to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 1906, and was the first player to score 100 goals for the West London club, reaching a then-record 108 goals from 164 games by the time of his return to West Ham in 1912. His career was ended by 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 ...

, to which he was conscripted in 1914 and critically injured by a gas attack. Hilsdon was nicknamed "Gatling Gun" because his shots "were simply unstoppable and which travel like shots from a

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

Career

Club

In 1906, Hilsdon was recommended to then-

manager John Robertson, who had been advised that Hilsdon would be available for transfer; so enthralled was Robertson with Hilsdon's ability that he promised to turn him into Chelsea's next centre forward. Hilsdon joined Chelsea later that year on £4 a week wages. He scored five goals on his debut in a 9–2 win over Glossop North End, and would later score six in an

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 ...

tie with

Worksop Town Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop. History First clu ...

, a club record which remains unequalled. The club programme described him as "living proof that to become a first-class footballer it is not necessary to be born north of the

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

". Hilsdon scored 27 goals that season, which helped earn Chelsea promotion to the First Division in their second year of professional football. Within three years he had scored 76 goals in 99 appearances. His later days with Chelsea were hindered by problems with injuries and his personal life, including a battle with alcoholism, though he did score 19 goals in 1910–11. He became the first Chelsea player to score 100 goals, and ended his time there with 108 from 164 games. He is currently the club's 10th highest goal scorer of all time. In 1912, Hilsdon returned to West Ham, and was top scorer for them in the 1912–13 season, scoring 17 goals in 36 games. He was known at this point as the "old international", even though he was still only 27 years of age. Hilsdon played for West Ham until 1915, and during his two spells there he recorded 92 Southern League appearances, and scored 35 goals. Hilsdon also played in four

World War I 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 ...

games for the East London club. He is also credited with helping the development of young West Ham striker Syd Puddefoot.

International

Hilsdon received international recognition 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 ...

, often playing alongside his Chelsea teammate, Jimmy Windridge. Shortly after joining Chelsea he was selected to play for a

Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

, for whom he hit a

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 ...

in a 6–0 win over the Irish League on his debut. He made his England debut in February 1907, against Ireland. He scored four goals for England in a 7–0 win over

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and two apiece in wins over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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and Bohemia. In all, he scored 14 times in just eight international games for England, eight of his goals coming from games in England's first overseas tour in 1908.

Military service and later life

During the

Hilsdon tried to avoid active service and was caught by the police hiding in a chicken run, and was called up. He fought on the Western Front where he was attacked by gas. This affected him greatly, and in the words of his son, he "copped the mustard gas at Arras". The gas attack caused sufficient damage to Hilsdon to end his footballing career. After the War, he worked as a teaboy on building sites, ran a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and organised raffles in East End pubs. He died in Leicester in 1941 and only four people came to his funeral. In October 2015 Chelsea supporters raised funds for a headstone to mark his grave. A

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

modelled on Hilsdon is still a feature of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home ground. It was said to cause great misfortune if removed, and when it had to be removed during renovation in the late 1970s, Chelsea suffered financial and footballing difficulties.Rough Guide 11s: Chelsea

References

* *
West Ham United F.C. Player & People List
*

External links

England FC.com Player Profile: George Hilsdon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilsdon, George 1885 births 1941 deaths Footballers from Bromley-by-Bow English footballers England men's international footballers Chelsea F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players English Football League representative players Men's association football forwards British Army personnel of World War I