George Herbert Thompson (1900 – 6 June 1968) was an English footballer who played for York City and Southampton as a goalkeeper during the 1920s.

Career

Thompson was born in Treeton, near Rotherham, Yorkshire and trained as a joiner. After playing for his local village team, he started his professional career with York City, then playing in the Midland League. In August 1927, he moved to the south coast to join Southampton of the Football League Second Division. He made his debut on 10 September, when he replaced the injured Tommy Allen away to Notts County. He kept a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

on his debut (0–0) and retained his place in goal for a further seven matches before Allen's return to fitness in November. After that his appearances were only sporadic, providing cover for Allen or his replacement, Willie White. In his three years at The Dell, Thompson made only sixteen first-team appearances, including two defeats in the FA Cup. In the 1929–30 Round 3 match at Bradford City, Thompson allowed a shot to crawl under his body after an awful defensive mix-up for Bradford's first goal, with Saints going on to lose the match 4–1. Thompson spent most of his "Saints" career in the reserves, where he made 159 appearances. In the summer of 1930, with Bert Scriven now promoted to second-choice 'keeper behind White, Thompson was placed on the transfer list for a fee of £250. With no offers being received, Thompson was eventually released, and returned to his native Yorkshire to resume his career as a joiner, in the Dinnington coalmines.

Family

Thompson had two sons, both of whom became professional goalkeepers – George Jnr. who played for

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

including playing on the losing side in the

1954 FA Cup Final The 1954 FA Cup Final was a football match between West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End, played on 1 May 1954 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. It was the final match of the 1953–54 staging of English football's primary cup c ...

, and Des, who played for York City, Burnley and Sheffield United.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, George 1900 births Footballers from Rotherham 1968 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers York City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players Midland Football League players