George Wylie Easton (1883–1966) was a Scottish businessman,

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 ...

and

sportsperson An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. He lived in Finland from 1903 to 1939 and worked on the timber trade mostly in the city of

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

. Easton was an enthusiast sportsman who was interested in football,

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

and

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

. In 1903 Easton moved to Western Finnish coastal town of Jakobstad and three years later to neighboring Kokkola introducing football to both towns. The first football match in Kokkola was played between the crew of a British

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

and the local

voluntary fire brigade A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...

. In 1908 Easton won the first Finnish championship title with

Unitas Sports Club Sports Club Unitas (Swedish ''Sportklubben Unitas'') was a sports club in Helsinki, Finland. It was founded in 1905 by sportsmen who had left Reipas Helsinki. Unitas was the first club to win the Finnish football championship title in 1908.''Jal ...

. He played and coached the rest of his career for Reipas of

. Easton was also a talented sprinter. His record on

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

run was 10.8 (1910) and on

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

23.4 (1910). Easton's record on 200 metres was 0.2 seconds better than the Finnish record of that time. His unofficial record on 100 metres is said to be 10.4. Easton participated the Finnish Championships in Athletics but was not awarded since he did not hold the Finnish citizenship. In 1909 Easton introduced curling to Finland. He acquired the equipment from British engineers working at the Putilov gun plant in St. Petersburg. The first official match was held a year later in Vyborg as the local club Reipas played against English Curling Club of Moscow."Voisiko Putilovin Pietarissa sijainneilla tykkitehtailla ja Curlingilla olla jotain yhteistä?", Finnish Curling Association
(in Finnish). Retrieved 29 June 2013.

Honors

* Finnish Football Championship: 1908

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Easton, George W. 1883 births 1966 deaths People from Bo'ness Scottish footballers Scottish football managers Scottish male sprinters Scottish male curlers 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate football managers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Finland Expatriate footballers in Finland Association footballers not categorized by position