George Wilfred Mee (12 April 1900 – July 1978) 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 ...
. He played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Nicknamed ''the Mighty Atom'', he was the older brother of former
Arsenal manager
Bertie Mee
Bertram Mee OBE (25 December 1918 – 21 October 2001) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Derby County and Mansfield Town. Mee was also a manager, noted for leading Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971.
Playing career
Bor ...
.
Career
Born in
Bulwell
Bulwell is a market town in the City of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the population of Bulwell at 29,771 which amounted to o ...
,
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
, Mee started his career at
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
, before moving to
Blackpool on a free transfer in July 1920.
Bill Norman gave Mee his Blackpool debut on 18 September 1920, replacing Joe Donachie at outside-left in a 2–0 league victory at
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
. He went on to make a further 28 appearances during the
1920–21 campaign, scoring two goals, including the only goal in a victory over
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
at
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...
on 22 January 1921.
Over the next four seasons (
1921–22 to
1924–25), he was an ever-present, with over 200 consecutive matches (195 in the
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
), a feat which still stands as a club record.
In his second season, 1921–22, he scored seven goals, including the only goal in a victory at
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
on 28 January 1922, and both goals in a 2–1 win at home to Nottingham Forest on 4 March. One of them was described as "one of the greatest goals ever seen at Bloomfield Road".
Mee's final appearance for Blackpool occurred on 19 December 1925, in a single-goal victory over
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 ...
at Bloomfield Road. He was transferred to
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in February,
along with
Jimmy Gill
James J. Gill (9 November 1894 – 1964) was an English professional footballer. He was born in Sheffield.
Gill began his career at hometown side Sheffield Wednesday in 1913. With the club suffering financial difficulties he was sold to Cardi ...
, where he played until 1932 and made 148 appearances, scoring 15 goals. He went on to play for
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
,
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
,
Great Harwood
Great Harwood is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, located north east of Blackburn and adjacent to the Ribble Valley. Great Harwood is the major conurbation of the 'Three Towns'; the three towns being Great Harwood, Clayton- ...
,
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
and
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
before returning to Accrington Stanley in 1938 where he ended his career.
Blackpool F.C. Hall of Fame
Mee was inducted into the
Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player
Jimmy Armfield
James Christopher Armfield, (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at B ...
in April 2006.
Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Mee is in the pre-1950s.
Post-retirement
After retiring, Mee bought a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in Blackpool. He died in July 1978 in
Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation i ...
.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Georgie Mee at the Blackpool Supporters Association's Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mee, Georgie
1900 births
1978 deaths
English men's footballers
Notts County F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Mansfield Town F.C. players
Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891) players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
People from Bulwell
Footballers from Nottinghamshire
People from Poulton-le-Fylde
Great Harwood F.C. players
Men's association football midfielders