George Hardwick

George Hardwick

Statue of Hardwick which stands outside the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
Personal information
Date of birth2 February 1920
Place of birthSaltburn, England
Date of death19 April 2004 (aged 84)
Playing positionDefender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1937–1950Middlesbrough143(5)
1950–1956Oldham Athletic190(14)
National team
1946–1948England13(0)
Teams managed
1950–1956Oldham Athletic
1957Netherlands
1957–1958PSV Eindhoven
1964–1965Sunderland
1966–1970Gateshead
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

George Hardwick (2 February 1920 – 19 April 2004) was an English football player and coach. During his time as an active player, he was a left-sided defender for Middlesbrough. He was also a member of the England national football team, playing in 13 international matches and serving as the team's first post-World War II captain.

In 1947, the nations of Great Britain joined together to form a football team, which Hardwick captained and led to victory (6–1) against the rest of Europe.

Owing to a knee injury Hardwick had to terminate his international career after 12 matches. He is held in high esteem by Middlesbrough fans, and is regarded as the greatest defender in the club's history.

After his career as a player, Hardwick served as player manager for Oldham Athletic and manager for PSV Eindhoven, and, from 1959 to 1961, the Netherlands national football team. He later managed Sunderland A.F.C. and Gateshead.

Today his legacy lives on in the form of The George Hardwick Foundation,[1] a charity dedicated to helping carers, former carers and patients. The Patron is his wife Jennifer, who cared for George during his latter years. They have three main sites at Stockton, Middlesbrough and The University Hospital of North Tees.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.georgehardwickfoundation.org

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Eddie Hapgood		 England captain
1946–1948 		Succeeded by
Billy Wright