George Kay (21 September 1891 – 18 April 1954) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and manager of

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. The highlight of his playing career was when he captained

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 ...

in the first

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 ...

final to be played at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, the

White Horse Final The 1923 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football A ...

. He was manager of Liverpool for 15 years (1936–1951) and led them to 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 ...

title in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

, the first post-war football season, as well as taking them to the

1950 FA Cup Final The 1950 FA Cup Final was the 69th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 29 April 1950 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Arsenal and Liverpool. Arsenal won the match 2–0 to win the FA Cup for the third time, with both goals scored b ...

(the club's first in thirty-six years).

Playing career

Kay was born in

Manchester 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 t ...

and joined

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 ...

in 1911. After failing to agree re-signing terms, he joined Belfast club

Distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

at the start of the 1911–12 season, helping to win the Gold Cup and the

CAS Cas may refer to: * Caș, a type of cheese made in Romania * ' (1886–) Czech magazine associated with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk * '' Čas'' (19 April 1945–February 1948), the official, daily newspaper of the Democratic Party of Slovakia * ''CA ...

despite a long-term injury interrupting his playing career, and becoming the first

Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...

to captain an

Irish Football League Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

representative team. He served with the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

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 ...

and, following the war, he moved back to England to join

in July 1919, where he spent the next seven seasons. He made his debut at home against

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 ...

in September 1919 and, having taken over the captaincy from

Billy Cope William Arthur Cope (25 November 1884 – 18 February 1937) was an English footballer who played as a full-back. He played 287 league games in the Football League over a nineteen-year professional career. He joined Burslem Port Vale in A ...

for the 1922–23 season, led the West Ham side that gained promotion to the First Division and reached the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

against his former club, Bolton Wanderers, in 1923. This was the first

final to be played at

, the so-called

. He was one of the few members of the Cup Final side never to win an international cap but became the first West Ham player to play over 200 league games for the club. Even at this age, Kay's health was never good and on a tour of Spain in 1926 he fell ill and he remained in Spain for three weeks before he was fit enough to return to England. As a result, he retired from active playing, although he did turn out twice for

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

in 1927.

Appearances for West Ham United

Management career

Luton Town

In 1927, he became coach at

, before moving up to manager in 1929. In his two seasons as manager, the Hatters languished in mid-table in the

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 ...

, finishing 13th and 7th, before Kay accepted the challenge to run

in May 1931.

Southampton

He joined

in May 1931, following the resignation of

Arthur Chadwick Arthur Chadwick (July 1875 – 21 March 1936) was a professional footballer whose playing career as a centre-half included spells at Portsmouth and Southampton, before going on to be manager at Exeter City, Reading and Southampton. He also mad ...

, who had stood down after Saints had embarked on a policy of selling their best players to survive financially. In an effort to rebuild the club's fortunes and help them survive during these difficult times financially, Kay created Saints' first nursery side, and before long a new generation of young players came into the first team having come through the nursery ranks, including

Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...

(who later joined

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and played 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 ...

) and

Charlie Sillett Charles Thomas Sillett (29 October 1906 – 27 February 1945) was an English professional footballer who played as a full back for Southampton in the 1930s. He was the father of John Sillett and Peter Sillett, both of whom became professional f ...

(father of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and Peter), thus ushering in a new era for the club. Kay "''was tremendously enthusiastic and he worked hard throughout his stay at The Dell, using up a considerable amount of nervous energy at every match. He 'played' every kick and his body would visibly vibrate to the stresses and strains on the playing field"''. During Kay's five seasons at The Dell, Southampton languished in Division 2, finishing each season in the lower half of the table and being eliminated from the

each year in the early stages. He started his Southampton career brightly with an opening day victory over

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 ...

on 29 August 1931 and by mid-September they topped the division. Such form could not last, however, and injuries soon resulted in the club sliding down the table. Kay was unable to field a settled side and used 30 different players during the season, including six different centre forwards. Other than the emergence of youngsters such as Drake and Sillett, the bright spots of this first season in charge were

Johnny Arnold John Arnold (30 November 1907, Cowley, Oxford – 4 April 1984, Southampton, Hampshire) was an English cricketer and Football player. Cricket career John Arnold was an attacking opening batsman for Hampshire for 20 years from 1930, when he qu ...

, who was top scorer with 20 goals, and Arthur Haddleton, who scored in eight consecutive games at the start of the season. During the 1932 close season, in order to balance the books several players left the club including

Bill Fraser William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play ''W ...

Bert Jepson Albert Edward Jepson (9 November 1902 – 18 December 1981) was an English footballer who played as an outside right for Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion in the 1920s and 1930s. Career Huddersfield Town Jepson was born in Glasshoughton, ...

and Haddleton (who all joined

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Johnny McIlwaine John Arkison McIlwaine (12 June 1904 – 24 April 1980) was a Scottish association football, footballer who played as a centre half for Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth, where he captained the team in the 1929 FA Cup Final, before moving to south coas ...

(who joined

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

after failure to agree terms) and

Willie Haines Wyndham William Pretoria Haines (14 July 1900 – 5 November 1974) was an English footballer who played at centre-forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Club career Haines was born at Warminster ...

, who retired to join Weymouth. Despite the large number of departures the team had a more settled look about it and during the 1932–33 season Kay had a squad of 15 players of whom twelve were the mainstay of the side. Led by Ted Drake, the team improved slightly on the previous season, winning a club record 15 out of 21 home matches, but only registering three away victories. Once again the directors needed to raise cash and in February 1933 they sold Arnold and Mike Keeping to Fulham for a combined fee of £5,000.

Jimmy McIntyre James Alfred McIntyre (31 October 1881 – 1954) was an English footballer who became manager at Southampton, Coventry City and Fulham. Playing career McIntyre was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. He was a journeyman player of some repute, ...

, the former Saints manager now in charge at Fulham boasted that this was "the best deal I ever brought off". The fans were now disillusioned with the club and attendances dropped to record lows, with only 2,949 turning out for the match against

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 ...

on 25 February, well below the break-even target of 14,000. Despite the financial difficulties faced by the club, the team were not badly affected and ended the season in mid-table. In the 1933–34 season, Saints equalled the record of 15 home victories, but their away form was abysmal failing to win even once and picking up only six draws. The most significant events of the season involved

, who scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in the opening day's match against Bradford City, was sent off against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

in December and, inevitably, was sold for a record fee of £6,000 to Arsenal in March. Despite finishing his Saints season two months early, Drake was comfortably the side's top scorer with 22 league goals, with no other player managing more than six. As a result of their poor away form, Saints ended the season well down the table in 14th place. The departure of Drake, although balancing the club's finances, left a large gap in the Saints forward line which Kay was not able to fill satisfactorily. In the summer of 1934, Kay signed

Laurie Fishlock Laurence Barnard Fishlock (2 January 1907 – 25 June 1986) was an English cricketer, who played in four Test matches from 1936 to 1947. A specialist batsman, he achieved little in those four matches, but might have had a much more substantial ...

from

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

as a winger and promoted Norman Cole from the reserves, but the side lacked any real firepower. McIlwaine returned from his "exile" at Llanelli in an effort to bolster the defence. The season started badly with only two points from the first five games. The depressing form continued until Christmas, when the team won three consecutive matches, including their first away victory (against Swansea Town) ending a run of 33 away games without a win. They managed only one further away victory and were serious candidates for relegation, finishing the season in 19th place. Cole was top scorer with eight league goals as Saints managed a miserly total of only 46 goals. The club's finances were now so dire that the supporters club had to make a loan of £200 to help finance the summer wage bill. 1935–36 was Southampton's fiftieth season since their original formation in 1885, but the club approached their jubilee season in a gloomy state with little to celebrate. They did, however, venture into the transfer market signing centre-forward

Vic Watson Victor Martin Watson (10 November 1897 – 3 August 1988) was an English professional footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United. Playing career Watson, a centre forward, played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and ...

from Kay's former club

. The team made a superb start to the season with four wins and two draws in the first six games and by the end of September Saints were top of the table. Once again, this form could not be sustained, and only three further games were won before the new year. The slump continued into 1936 being partly relieved by a 7–2 victory over

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 15 February. On 28 March Saints suffered their heaviest-ever league defeat, going down 8–0 away to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

and two days later had their lowest ever home attendance for a league match, when only 1,875 turned out on a Monday night to witness a 1–0 defeat against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. Predictably, the directors responded by selling their better players, with goalkeeper Billy Light (another product of the nursery side) being sold to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

for £2,000. Once again Saints finished the season in a disappointing 17th position, with Watson top-scorer on 14 goals. In June 1936, the entire board of directors resigned, to be replaced with a new board. In order to reduce the company's wage bill, the new board asked Kay to resign. In August, Kay accepted an offer from

along with long-serving trainer

Bert Shelley Frederick Albert "Bert" Shelley (11 August 1899 – 29 December 1971) was an English footballer, who played as a half back for Southampton, for whom he made nearly 450 appearances, before becoming a coach at Southampton. His total of 448 appeara ...

. Kay's position as manager at Southampton was filled by the promotion of George Goss, the company secretary, who took charge of the team, with captain

taking on the role of assistant manager.

Liverpool

At Southampton, severe financial problems and the continual sale of the club's best players, prevented Kay from realising his full potential as a manager. He was, however, experienced, well respected and knowledgeable and not afraid to try out new ideas, and the combination of these qualities brought him to Liverpool's attention when it was clear that George Patterson would be unable to continue the managerial side of his role. Kay's career as Liverpool manager started poorly, with only three wins and four draws from the first twelve matches. This run included a 2–6 defeat at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

on 2 September and a 2–5 defeat at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

; the only bright spot in this spell was a 7–1 victory over

on 12 September, with two goals from Fred Howe. Results improved slightly as the season progressed and Liverpool finished Kay's first season in charge in 18th place in Division 1. Despite the set-back of an opening day 1–6 defeat at

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 ...

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

, Liverpool finished the 1937–38 season comfortably in mid-table, with

Alf Hanson Adolph Jonathan "Alf" Hanson (27 July 1912 – October 1993) was a association football, football player for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, South Liverpool F.C., South Liverpool, Shelbourne F.C., Shelbourne, Ellesmere Port Tow ...

top scorer on 14 league goals. In the following season, Liverpool again finished in 11th position in the table, with

Berry Nieuwenhuys Berry Nieuwenhuys, (5 November 1911 – 12 June 1984) was a South African footballer who played predominantly for Liverpool, which he was contracted to from 1933 to 1947. He retired in 1947, returning to South Africa to be employed at the Transv ...

Willie Fagan William Fagan (20 February 1917 – 29 February 1992) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Celtic, Preston North End and Liverpool. Football career Celtic Fagan started his professional career as a teenager at Celtic, joining the club fro ...

and Phil Taylor joint top scorers in the league with 14 goals each. In readiness for the next season, Kay snapped up young defender

Bob Paisley Robert Paisley OBE (23 January 1919 – 14 February 1996) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded, due to his achievements with the club, ...

on a free transfer from

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, as well as another future Liverpool legend

Billy Liddell William Beveridge Liddell (10 January 1922 – 3 July 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played his entire professional career with Liverpool. He signed with the club as a teenager in 1938 and retired in 1961, having scored 228 goals in 534 ap ...

, but all their careers were then interrupted by the outbreak of

World War II 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 ...

. After the war, the club took the unusual decision to tour the United States and Canada. It was Kay's theory that the climate and diet in North America would be extremely beneficial to the players. The punishing schedule of 10 matches in less than a month meant that the Liverpool squad started the first post-war season in far better physical shape than many of their competitors. The season started slowly, with four victories and three defeats in the first seven games. The victories included a 7–4 match against

on 7 September, in which Bob Paisley made his league debut for the club and Billy Liddell scored his first league goal. There was also a 5–0 defeat away to

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 ...

(played at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...

). Things began to improve and a run of seven consecutive victories in February and March set the club on the way to the championship. Liverpool had a long run in the F.A. Cup, eventually going out to

in the semi-final, after a replay. The club did, however, pick up the Lancashire Senior Cup, Lancashire County Combination Championship Cup and

Liverpool Senior Cup The Liverpool County Football Association Senior Cup, commonly known as the Liverpool Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas. It is the County Cup competition of ...

along the way. As the season reached its climax, several clubs were still in contention and on 31 May 1947 Liverpool went to Molineux to meet the leaders,

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

needing to win to take the championship, as well as other results going in their favour. Liverpool won the match 2–1, other results went their way and the Reds were champions of the Football League for a fifth time. It was George Kay's finest moment as a football manager. Top scorers in the Championship season were

Jack Balmer John Balmer (6 February 1916 — 25 December 1984) was an English footballer who played as a striker for English club Liverpool. Life and playing career Born in West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, Balmer played for Collegiate Old Boys ...

and

Albert Stubbins Albert Stubbins (17 July 1919 – 28 December 2002) was an English footballer. He played in the position of centre forward, although his career was limited by the onset of World War II. While playing for Liverpool, he won the League Champions ...

with 24 league goals each. They continued to be prolific scorers during Kay's period in charge but the club was unable to come close to another championship, finishing each of the next three seasons in the lower part of the top half of the table. In 1950, they reached the

for the first time in 36 years, but the match at

ended in a 2–0 victory for

. By now, Kay was clearly not a well man and he retired in January 1951 and he died in Liverpool three years later on 18 April 1954.

Honours

As a player

Lisburn Distillery * Gold Cup winner: 1914 *

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...

winner: 1915 * City Cup winner: 1913 West Ham United * Division Two Runners Up: 1922–23 *

finalist:

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

As a manager

Liverpool * League Championship winner: 1946–47 *