George Harold Lawrence (3 March 1889 – 1 March 1959) was an English professional footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, most notably for Derby County.

Career

Early career

Lawrence spent his junior career playing for Manners Rangers, before joining Ilkeston United in September 1909.

Derby County

In May 1910, Lawrence would sign for Derby County, where he would make his senior football debut against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on 17 September 1910 in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. For his first four seasons at the club, Lawrence would play the role as backup goalkeeper to first choice keeper Ernald Scattergood, which restricted his appearances for the first team in the First Division, four league appearances in 1912–13 and nine in 1913–14. The club would get relegated in 1914. It wouldn't be until 1914 when Lawrence would take on the role as first choice goalkeeper, he played a major part in Derby's 1914–15 Second Division league championship, playing in 31 league matches that season.

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 ...

would then postpone league football for four seasons, and Lawrence would serve the country during the conflict. When league football resumed would retain his role as first choice Derby goalkeeper for another three seasons, playing 32 times in 1919–20. In September 1920 there were reports that Lawrence requested to be replaced on the

transfer list The transfer market is the arena in which football players are available for transfer to clubs. The transfer market consists of a list of players available for transfer, and also the money moving between clubs as they contest to purchase and sell t ...

by Derby but these reports were dismissed by the club and local newspaper Derby Evening Telegraph. Lawrence would play 28 times in 1920–21, where the club would suffer relegation again. and 23 times in 1921–22. In this season, Derby would play

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

at Highfield Road in November 1921, the first league meeting between the two sides, which was forced to be abandoned after half an hour with no score due to heavy fog. For the 1922–23 season Ben Olney would take over as first choice keeper. Lawrence played 7 times in 1922–23, and once in 1923–24. Lawrence featured mainly for the reserves during this period. Lawrence left Derby in the summer of 1924 and during his 14 years at the club, Lawrence made 145 first team appearances.

Post Derby County

Lawrence would then join

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in August 1924, where he would play 14 times and then spent the 1925–26 season at Lincoln City, where he would play 7 times, before returning to Ilkeston United in the summer of 1926.

Death

Lawrence died on 1 March 1959, aged 69 in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

Career statistics

Honours

Derby County *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

champions: 1914–15

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, George 1889 births 1959 deaths Footballers from Nottingham English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Ilkeston United F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players English Football League players British military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Nottingham