George Lawton (4 August 1862 – 1930) was an English
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 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 ...
for
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
.
Career
George Lawton joined Stoke St Peter's in 1884. In July 1885, he signed for
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
, playing in both
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 ...
matches in the
1885–86 season as Stoke lost to
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
in a
replay. In January 1886 he joined
nearby
Nearby (previously named WNM Live / Who's Near Me) was a location-based social networking service. Nearby was originally launched in June 2010.. The site closed in September 2021 following a significant data break.
Background
Nearby was fo ...
Burslem 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 of ...
, where he scored three times in thirteen
friendlies
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
, before returning to Stoke in the May of that year. Stoke' major achievement from 1886 to 1888 was reaching the
1887–88 FA Cup
The 1887–88 Football Association Challenge Cup was the 17th staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest Association football, football tournament. One hundred and forty-nine teams entered, twenty-one more than the previous season, although four of t ...
Fifth Round. The tie was played on 7 January 1888 at
Stoney Lane
Stoney Lane was a football ground in West Bromwich, England. It was the home ground of West Bromwich Albion from 1885 until 1900.
History
West Bromwich Albion moved to Stoney Lane in 1885 from their Four Acres ground in 1885. A 600-seat grandst ...
, the then home of
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 ...
. Stoke lost 4–1. Lawton played in all four FA Cup ties in
1887–88 and scored two goals.
[ (registration & fee required)]
Lawton made his
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
debut on 13 October 1888, playing as a winger, in a 2–1 defeat to
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 ...
at
Pike's Lane
Pike's Lane was a football ground in Bolton, England. It was the home ground of Bolton Wanderers between 1880 and 1895, and the venue of the first goal scored in league football anywhere in the world.
History
Pike's Lane opened in 1880, with the ...
. He scored his home debut seven days later against
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 ...
at the
Victoria Ground
The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League.
History
...
, the score was 3–3 with three minutes of play left when Lawton scored the winner to make it 4–3. Lawton appeared in 13 of the 22 league matches played by Stoke in the
1888–89 season, scoring one league goal. As a winger (13 appearances) Lawton played in a Stoke midfield that achieved big (three–League–goals–or–more) wins once. Stoke finished bottom of the table and at the end of the season Lawton joined
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
. In 1890 he moved from Altrincham to Belvedere.
Career statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, George
Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent
English men's footballers
Men's association football wingers
Stoke City F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Altrincham F.C. players
English Football League players
1930 deaths
1862 births