George Brown Key (11 February 1882 – November 1958) was a Scottish international footballer who played in both the Scottish and English football leagues.

Career

Key was born in the

Dennistoun Dennistoun is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's east end, about east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun ward under Glasgow City Council, ...

district of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and played at Junior level for Parkhead before stepping up to Heart of Midlothian in 1899. With Hearts, Key won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

and the following season, was capped for

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 ...

against

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 ...

, also appearing in the away leg of the '

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

' against

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 ...

. He was a Scottish Cup runner-up in

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

. After a disagreement with Hearts over financial matters, Key was signed by Chelsea in 1905 for their first season in English football. The

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

club's manager Jacky Robertson had been an international teammate of Key's three years earlier. Key was only a regular in his first year at Chelsea, and left in 1909. His brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was also a Scotland international.

References

External links

George Key Scotland profile
at London Hearts Supporters Club
George Key
at 11v11.com 1882 births 1958 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Men's association football wing halves Scottish men's footballers Parkhead F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Scotland men's international footballers English Football League players Scottish Football League players Date of death missing Place of death missing Scottish Junior Football Association players People from Dennistoun Scotland men's junior international footballers {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1880s-stub