George Albert Handley (1886–1952) 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 lea ...

who played most of his career as a winger with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

. Born in

Totley Totley is a suburb on the extreme southwest of the city of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Lying within the historic county boundaries of Derbyshire, Totley was amalgamated into the city of Sheffield in 1933, and is today part of the ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, he began his professional career with Chesterfield Town before moving to Bradford in 1906. After five years at Bradford, Handley left for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1911 but his stay was only a brief one as he moved on to become player-manager of Goole Town in 1912. He re-joined Bradford in 1913 but was released at the end of the season and signed for Barrow with whom he remained for the duration of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, occasionally guesting for his home town club

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. After the war Handley returned to Bradford for a third spell, ending his playing career with the club, and later spent some time as coach of Swiss side Brühl.

Playing career

As a child, Handley represented Sheffield Schools four times in the annual matches against London Schools. Handley started his professional career at the age of 17 with

Hallam Hallam may refer to: Places * Hallam, Victoria, Australia ** Hallam railway station UK * Hallamshire, an area in South Yorkshire, England, UK ** Royal Hallamshire Hospital ** Sheffield Hallam (UK Parliament constituency) ** Sheffield Hallam Univer ...

before moving to Chesterfield in January 1905. After two seasons with Chesterfield he joined

for the first time in October 1906 for a fee of £250. Handley was a prolific scorer at Bradford, and after making his debut on 27 October 1906 in a 2–1 victory over

Glossop North End Glossop North End Association Football Club is a football club in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, which competes in the . The club was founded in February 1886. Between 1899 and 1992 the club was officially known as Glossop. Their current home gr ...

, he played another 27 games in his first season scoring ten goals. In the 1907–08 season Handley scored 16 goals—a club record for a winger—from 37 games helping City to the

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. He struggled to repeat this form in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

and by 1911 Handley had fallen out of favour after making just 21 appearances in three seasons since promotion. His availability attracted the attention of

's new manager George Swift, whom Handley had first met while at Chesterfield. Swift was Southampton's first appointment as manager and promptly embarked on a spending spree, signing 11 players in six weeks, including Handley. Having joined Southampton in May 1911, Handley was immediately drafted into the first team on the left-wing, making his debut on 2 September 1911 at home to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. Described as "''an orthodox player, who depended on team-mates to create openings''" he was, however, one of Swift's better signings. After Swift was dismissed at the end of the season, Handley left The Dell and took up a post of player-manager with Goole Town in April 1912. In December 1913 he returned to Bradford City where he made just one appearance, before signing for Barrow just prior to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During the war, Handley joined the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

, and made occasional guest appearances for

, and

Stoke Stoke may refer to: Places Canada * Stoke, Quebec New Zealand * Stoke, New Zealand United Kingdom Berkshire * Stoke Row Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stoke Gifford * Bradley Stoke * Little Stoke * Harry Stoke * Stoke Lodge Bucking ...

, (playing twice in 1915–16), before returning to Bradford City after the cessation of hostilities. After two more seasons with City, Handley moved to Switzerland to take up coaching positions with Brühl in April 1922.

Later life

Handley returned to the armed services after leaving Switzerland and was reported as being stationed at

Coal Aston Airfield Coal Aston Airfield also known as Apperknowle Airstrip, is a general aviation airfield located in the village Apperknowle, Derbyshire, south of Sheffield. The unlicensed airfield is just south of a ridge of high ground to the north-east of Dr ...

at the end of 1922.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Bradford City *

championship: 1907–08

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handley, George 1886 births 1952 deaths Military personnel from Sheffield Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Hallam F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Goole Town F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. wartime guest players Stoke City F.C. wartime guest players Southern Football League players English Football League players Royal Flying Corps personnel Goole Town F.C. managers People from Derbyshire (before 1933) Footballers from Derbyshire English football managers People from Dore British Army personnel of World War I