Albert Henry Gibbons (10 April 1914 – 4 July 1984) 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 ...

and

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 ...

who played in

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 ...

for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

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

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

. After his retirement as a player, he managed in England, Israel, South Africa and at international level.

Playing career

Amateur years (1937–1945)

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

who remained an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

for the first part of his career, Gibbons played for

non-league Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

clubs

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

, Hayes and

Kingstonian Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was founded in 1885 by YMC ...

and had it not been for family influence, he may have turned professional with Fulham in late 1934. Gibbons joined

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 ...

club

in July 1937 and scored on his debut, in a 3–0 victory at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

on 16 September 1937. Owing to his

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

service, he obtained the nickname "Wings" amongst the Spurs support and made 36 appearances and scored 18 goals during the 1937–38 season, with 12 of his strikes coming in the form of

hat-tricks 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 wi ...

in four consecutive games mid-season. He joined First Division club

in August 1938 and made 11 appearances and scored one goal during a poor 1938–39 season for the Bees. Gibbons re-joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1939, but failed to make an appearance in his second spell with the

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

club.

Professional years (1945-1949)

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 ...

halted Gibbons' career between 1939 and 1945 and during the war, he guested for

, Brentford,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

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 ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. In 1945, Gibbons turned professional and signed with Bradford Park Avenue to play the 1945–46 season in the wartime league and an expanded

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 ...

. The Avenue advanced to the sixth round, with Gibbons scoring four goals in an 8–2 fourth round second leg win over

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 ...

on 30 January 1946. Avenue were admitted to the Second Division for the 1946–47 season and he made 42 league appearances and scored 21 goals. In August 1947, Gibbons returned to Brentford, newly relegated to the Second Division, for a club record £8,000 fee. He was the club's top scorer during the 1947–48 season, scoring 13 times. Across his two spells with Brentford, Gibbons made a total of 71 appearances and scored 19 goals before retiring in February 1949.

Managerial career

Brentford

Gibbons became manager of Second Division club Brentford in February 1949, taking over from Harry Curtis, the most successful manager in the club's history. Gibbons had been groomed to succeed Curtis at the helm. In March 1949, Gibbons brought former Bradford Park Avenue teammate and future

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 ...

manager

Ron Greenwood Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...

to the club he supported as a boy and later named him

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In February 1951, Gibbons brought football analyst Charles Reep to Griffin Park on a part-time basis until the end of the 1950–51 season. Reep helped improve the team's goals-to-games ratio, which saved them from relegation. Gibbons managed Brentford until the end of the 1951–52 season, making three consecutive top 10 finishes in the Second Division, but he found himself at odds with the club's board during a difficult time financially for the Bees. A falling out with star wing halves

Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...

and Ron Greenwood towards the end of 1951 saw the Bees' form tail off, with the club finishing the 1951–52 season in 10th place, after challenging for promotion in mid-season. Gibbons resigned in August 1952 and was replaced by his assistant,

Jimmy Bain James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo ...

Daring Club Bruxelles

Gibbons took over as manager of Belgian club Daring Club Bruxelles in 1953 and won the 1954–55

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 ...

championship with the club.

Israel

Gibbons took charge of the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

national football team in 1956. His tenure began with a 7–1 aggregate defeat over two legs to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in qualifying for the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

. In September 1956, Gibbons presided over Israel's campaign in the inaugural AFC Asian Cup, defeating

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

on the way to finishing as runners-up to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. After leaving the job, Gibbons stayed on in Israel to manage

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

club

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

and guided the club to a runners-up finish in the 1956–57 season. After a spell coaching in Australia, he returned to Israel to manage

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

between 1961 and 1963.

Africa

Gibbons moved to South Africa to manage clubs Rangers and Transvaal. He accepted his final managerial position in 1966, when he was named as manager of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. He stayed in the job until October 1967, when he was replaced by his assistant, Elijah Lidonde.

International career

Gibbons was called up to the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

representative team for a tour of South Africa in 1939. He scored six goals in six caps for England Amateurs in 1938 and 1939 and won one cap for the full

team during the Second World War.

Personal life

Gibbons attended

West Kensington West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, includin ...

Central School. During the 1930s and through the Second World War, he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and was

demobbed Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

in 1946. During the 1960s, Gibbons worked in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Career statistics

Player

Manager

Honours

As a player

Kingstonian *

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

: 1936–37

As a manager

Daring Club Bruxelles *

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division (known as the Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Associa ...

: 1954–55

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Jackie 1914 births 1984 deaths Footballers from Fulham Association football forwards English footballers England amateur international footballers England wartime international footballers Kingstonian F.C. players Uxbridge F.C. players Hayes F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Brentford F.C. managers Isthmian League players English Football League players English football managers Israel national football team managers Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. managers Kenya national football team managers 1956 AFC Asian Cup managers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II English expatriate sportspeople in Israel English expatriate sportspeople in Kenya English expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Israel Expatriate football managers in Kenya English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Chelsea F.C. wartime guest players Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. managers Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. wartime guest players Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Reading F.C. wartime guest players