William Vivian Talbot Gibbins (10 August 1901 – 21 November 1979) was an English

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 ...

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 ...

who played as a striker.

West Ham and Clapton

Born in

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...

, Gibbins joined

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in 1923 and made his debut as an amateur on 26 December 1923 against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, creating the only goal of the game for Billy Moore. He decided not to play permanently for the club until the 1927–28 season. He became the first unpaid West Ham player to top the club's scoring charts in 1930–31, with 18 league goals. Gibbins also played for Clapton, and won the

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

with the club in 1924 and 1925.

Brentford, Bristol Rovers, Southampton, Leyton

He transferred to

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 ...

on 19 February 1932, but left at the end of the season. He had spells at

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

and

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 ...

before joining

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

, where he was a losing FA Amateur Cup finalist in 1934.

Career to retirement

1934 saw Gibbins join

Catford Wanderers Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...

, where he played until his retirement in 1939. Gibbins returned to

The Old Spotted Dog Ground The Old Spotted Dog Ground in Forest Gate is the oldest senior football ground in London. Clapton Community FC the fan-owned club purchased the ground in June 2020, having been initially awarded the lease. The previous tenants Clapton FC ...

as trainer of Clapton in the 1950s and became headmaster of Harold Road school in West Ham, retiring in the early 1970s. He continued to keep his interest in the game alive by watching local schools football and making the occasional visit to the

Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...

Legacy

The entrance to the Old Spotted Dog Ground at Disraeli Road,

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

is called the Vivian Gibbins Memorial Gate.

International career

Whilst registered with Clapton, he won two full

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 ...

caps, both against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, scoring twice in a 3–1 victory on 17 May 1924 and once on 21 May 1925. Gibbins went off injured after 35 minutes of the latter game; Freddie Fox also went off after 75 minutes and England finished with nine men, but managed to hang on to win the game 3–2. He also won 12

caps, scoring seven goals. Gibbins worked as a schoolmaster and was one of the last amateur footballers to feature for

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbins, Vivian 1901 births 1979 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Newham People from Forest Gate English men's footballers Men's association football forwards England men's international footballers Clapton F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Leyton F.C. players English Football League players England men's amateur international footballers