George Henry Moger (September 1878 – 16 June 1927) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Playing career

Born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, Moger started his career with local side Forest Swifts, before joining Southampton St. Marys' main local rivals,

Freemantle Freemantle is a suburb and electoral ward in Southampton, England. There are similarly named places in Hampshire: notably Henry II's hunting lodge in Kingsclere; a suburb of Hannington, Hampshire, Hannington; and Freemantle Common in Bitterne. ...

in 1898. In 1899 he was suspended for two months due to his having played amateur football for Forest Swifts whilst registered as a professional with Freemantle.

Southampton

He joined

in the summer of 1900, but spent most of his time at Southampton as understudy to the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international 'keeper,

Jack Robinson Jack Robinson may refer to: Sportspeople *Jack Robinson (catcher) (1880–1921), American baseball player *Jack Robinson (footballer, born 1870) (1870–1931), England, Derby County and Southampton football goalkeeper * Jack Robinson (footballer, ...

. Tall and lean, Moger was particularly useful in high-ball situations when he could come off his goal line to punch the ball clear. Robinson's dominance of the 'keeper's position restricted Moger to 14 Southern League appearances in his three years at The Dell.

Manchester United

In May 1903, he was sold to

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

who had spotted his potential when at Southampton. He would stay with United until 1912 when he retired. During his Manchester United career, he made 266 appearances, and helped United to

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 ...

titles in 1907–08 and 1910–11, and the

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 ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

Life after football

Moger retired as a player in 1912 and then began a new career as an accountant and commission agent. He died at the age of 48 in a Belgrave Road nursing home in Middlesex on 16 June 1927. He was buried in Manchester four days later, on 20 June 1927.

First World War

Moger served as a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War.

Honours

Manchester United *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1907–08, 1910–11 *

: 1908–09

References

External links

Football and the First World War profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moger, Harry 1878 births 1927 deaths Footballers from Southampton English footballers Manchester United F.C. players Freemantle F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Southern Football League players Association football goalkeepers FA Cup Final players