George William Showell (9 February 1934 – 18 December 2012) 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 ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

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 ...

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 ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. He spent the majority of his playing career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, featuring in two league championship-winning seasons and in the

1960 FA Cup Final The 1960 FA Cup Final was the 79th final of the world's oldest domestic football cup competition, the FA Cup. It took place on 7 May 1960 at Wembley Stadium in London. The match was contested by Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers. ...

Career

Showell was born in

Bilston Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...

and signed up by

in 1949. After several seasons in the reserves, he made his senior debut on 2 April 1955 in a 1–1 draw against Preston North End. This was the first in a run of games he had at the end of the 1954–55 season,. He did however play in two of the club's league championship triumphs, as well as in the

, where they beat

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

3–0 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 ...

, and the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and 1960 Charity Shield matches. He finally gained a regular first-team role after Billy Wright retired at the beginning of the 1959–60 campaign, and over the first half of the 1960s was a first-choice player at Molineux, amassing 218 appearances in total. When the club were relegated in 1965, Showell moved to

. He spent just eighteen months there before joining

in November 1966, where he finished his playing career. He remained with Wrexham until 1990, as assistant manager, trainer, caretaker manager, and physiotherapist, and was one of 20 inaugural inductees to the club's Supporters Association Hall of Fame. He died on 18 December 2012 aged 78. He collapsed while shopping at a supermarket and died later in Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Showell, George 1934 births 2012 deaths Sportspeople from Bilston English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players English Football League players