George Hilsdon
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| George Hilsdon | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Richard Hilsdon | |
| Date of birth | 10 August 1885 | |
| Place of birth | Bromley-by-Bow, England | |
| Date of death | 1941 (age 56) | |
| Place of death | Leicester, England | |
| Nickname | Gatling Gun | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1904-06 1906-12 1912-15 |
West Ham United Chelsea West Ham United |
16 (7) 150 (98) 69 (24) |
| National team | ||
| 1907–1909 | England | 8 (14) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
George Richard 'Gatling Gun' Hilsdon (b: 10 August 1885, Bromley-by-Bow. d: 1941, Leicester) was a footballer who began his career at West Ham United, making his debut in the 1903-04 season. His brother Jack Hilsdon also played for West Ham at this time. He earned his nickname through his machine gun-like goalscoring ability.
In 1906 Hilsdon was recommended to then-Chelsea manager John Tait Robertson, who had been advised that Hilsdon would be available for transfer; so enthralled was Robertson with Hilsdon's ability that he promised to turn him into Chelsea's next centre forward. Hilsdon joined Chelsea later that year and was earning £4 a week wages. He scored five goals on his Chelsea debut in a 9-2 win over Glossop North End - later in his career with the club he scored 6 in an FA Cup tie with Worksop Town - and the club programme described him as “living proof that to become a first-class footballer it is not necessary to be born north of the Tweed”.
Hilsdon scored 27 goals that season, which helped earn Chelsea promotion to the First Division in their second year of professional football. Within three years he had notched 76 goals in 99 appearances. His later days with Chelsea were hindered by problems with injuries and his personal life, including a battle with alcoholism, though he did score 19 goals in 1910-11. He ended his Chelsea career with 107 goals from 164 games, making him the club's 7th-highest goalscorer of all time.
Hilsdon received international recognition for England, often playing alongside his Chelsea team mate, Jimmy Windridge. Shortly after joining Chelsea he was selected to play for a Football League XI, for whom he hit a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over the Irish League on his debut. He made his England debut in February 1907 against Ireland. He scored four goals for England in a 7-0 win over Hungary and two apiece in wins over Ireland, Austria, Wales and Bohemia. In all, he managed to score 14 times in just eight international games for England.
In 1912 he returned to West Ham, and was top scorer for them in the 1912-13 season, scoring 17 goals in 36 games. He was known at this point as the "old international", even though he was still only 27 years of age. Hilsdon played for West Ham until 1915, and during his two spells there he recorded 92 Southern League appearances, and scored 35 goals. Hilsdon also played in four World War I games for the East London outfit. He is also credited with helping the development of young West Ham striker Syd Puddefoot.
During the war Hilsdon tried to avoid active service and was caught by the police hiding in a chicken run, and was called up. This affected him greatly, and in the words of his son, he “copped the mustard gas at Arras.”
After the War, he worked as a teaboy on building sites, ran a pub and organised raffles in East End pubs.
He died in Leicester in 1941 and only four people came to the funeral. There is no stone to mark Hilsdon's grave. A weather vane modelled on Hilsdon is still a feature of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home ground.
[edit] References
- Kerrigan, Colm. Gattling Gun George Hilsdon. Football Lives. ISBN 0-9530718-0-4.
- Blows, Kirk & Hogg, Tony (2000). The Essential History of West Ham United. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7036-8.
- West Ham United F.C. Player & People List
- Cheshire, Scott (1998). Chelsea: an Illustrated History. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-143-5.
