George Chippendale Robson (17 June 1905 – 1982) was an English professional

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 as an

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, most notably for

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 ...

and Heart of Midlothian in the 1930s. He later became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

at former club

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 ...

Playing career

Newcastle United

, Robson joined hometown First Division club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

in 1925, but failed to make an appearance for the first team before departing in 1928.

West Ham United

Robson signed for First Division club

in 1928. He made his debut for the Hammers on the final day of the 1927–28 season in a 3–1 defeat to former club Newcastle United. Robson had to wait until 15 December 1928 for his next appearance, but he made his presence count with West Ham's third goal in a 3–3 draw with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. That month, Robson also fired in five goals for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

in a 13–2 drubbing of

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 ...

. On 18 May 1929, Robson scored 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 ...

against Dutch club

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

in a 6–0 win at the

Het Houten Stadion Het Houten Stadion (English: ''The Wooden Stadium'') is a former stadium of AFC Ajax which served as the team's home stadium from 1907 to 1934. History Het Houten Stadion is a former stadium of AFC Ajax. Before Ajax moved to this stadium, they ha ...

. Robson failed to make a breakthrough into the first team at Upton Park, his best seasonal appearance tally being 11 in the 1929–30 season. He departed West Ham in February 1931, having made 18 appearances and scored two goals.

Brentford

Robson moved from

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

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 ...

to sign for

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 ...

club

in February 1931. He was a regular in the team throughout his time at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

, averaging a goal in every four league games, with

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Harry Curtis offering the view that Robson was his best ever signing. Robson contributed to the Bees' elevation to the First Division for the first time in the club's history, helping the club to the Third Division South title in 1933 and scoring 10 goals in 27 games to send the club to the top flight as

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 ...

champions in 1935. That same year, he also won the

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a football tournament formerly organised by the London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974, when the tournament was disbanded. After a 16-ye ...

with the

. Once in the First Division, the signings of

Dai Richards David Thomas Richards (31 October 1906 – 1 October 1969) was a Welsh professional footballer who made over 210 appearances as a left half in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also played league football for Birmingham and B ...

and Dave McCulloch pushed Robson out of the starting line-up and he made just 18 appearances during the first half of the 1935–36 season, before departing in the Bees December 1935. Robson made 131 appearances and scored 34 goals during his time at Brentford.

Heart of Midlothian

Robson moved to Scotland to join

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

club Heart of Midlothian in December 1935 and effectively replaced one of the men who displaced him at Brentford, Dave McCulloch. He made his debut in a 3–0 victory over

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

on 2 January 1936. Along with

Freddie Warren Frederick Windsor Warren (23 December 1907 – 1986) was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international. Club career Warren began his career at his home town club Cardiff City, spending time as understudy to George McLachlan befor ...

, Robson was the team's leading appearance-maker in the 1936–37 season, making 41 appearances and scoring four goals as Hearts finished fifth. He made 32 appearances and scored one goal during the 1937–38 season, a campaign in which Hearts finished as runners-up to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

in the First Division. He also appeared against former club Brentford in the

Empire Exhibition Trophy The Empire Exhibition Trophy was a football competition held in 1938 in conjunction with the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 in Glasgow. It was held to commemorate the Exhibition, then underway in Bellahouston Park, and the prize was a solid si ...

. After the break-out of the

Second World War 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 ...

in 1939 and the suspension of competitive football, Robson continued to appear for the club in the wartime Southern League. He made his final appearance for Hearts in a 4–1 Southern League win over

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

on 9 November 1940. Robson made 163 appearances and scored seven goals during his five years at Tynecastle. He won a host of minor honours while with the club, including the Wilson Cup (three times), the East of Scotland Shield (twice), the Stirling Charity Cup and the

Rosebery Charity Cup The Rosebery Charity Cup was a football competition organised for senior clubs from the East of Scotland. History The tournament was organised by and named for an early patron of Scottish football Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and ...

Scouting career

After retiring as a player, Robson returned to former club West Ham United as a

. He left Upton Park for the final time in 1971.

Personal life

Prior to becoming a professional footballer, Robson worked as a lorry driver.

Honours

Brentford *

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 ...

: 1934–35 *

Football League 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 ...

: 1932–33 *

: 1934–35 Heart of Midlothian * Wilson Cup: 1936–37, 1939–40, 1940–41 * East of Scotland Shield: 1936–37, 1937–38 * Stirling Charity Cup: 1936–37 *

: 1936–37

Career statistics

References

External links

West Ham United career details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, George English men's footballers English Football League players Brentford F.C. players Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Men's association football inside forwards 1905 births 1982 deaths West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football League players