Jackie Gibbons

Jackie Gibbons
Personal information
Full name Albert Henry Gibbons[1]
Date of birth (1914-04-10)10 April 1914
Place of birth Fulham, England
Date of death 4 July 1984(1984-07-04) (aged 70)
Place of death Johannesburg, South Africa
Playing position Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Kingstonian
Uxbridge
1937 Hayes 3 (0)
1937–1938 Tottenham Hotspur 27 (13)
1938–1939 Brentford 11 (1)
1939 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
1945–1947 Bradford Park Avenue 42 (21)
1947–1949 Brentford 56 (16)
Total 139 (62)
National team
1938–1939 England Amateurs 6 (6)
1939 The Football League XI
1942 England (wartime) 1 (0)
Teams managed
1949–1952 Brentford
1956 Israel
1956–1957 Hapoel Petah Tikva
1966–1967 Kenya
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Albert Henry "Jackie" Gibbons (10 April 1914 – 4 July 1984) was an English professional footballer and manager who played in the Football League for Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford and Bradford Park Avenue.[2] He went on to manage in England, Israel and at international level.

Playing career

A centre forward who remained an amateur for the first part of his career, Gibbons played for Athenian League sides Uxbridge and Hayes and Isthmian League side Kingstonian before joining Football League Second Division club Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 1937.[3] He scored on his debut, netting in a 3–0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on 16 September 1937.[4] Gibbons made 36 appearances and scored 18 goals during the 1937–38 season,[5] with 12 of his strikes coming in the form of four hattricks in consecutive games in December 1937 and January 1938.[6][7] He joined First Division side Brentford in the summer of 1938,[8] making 11 appearances and scoring one goal during a poor 1938–39 season for the Bees.[9] Gibbons re-joined Spurs in 1939,[8] but failed to make an appearance in his second spell with the White Hart Lane club.

The Second World War halted Gibbons' career between 1939 and 1945. In 1945, Gibbons turned professional and signed with Bradford Park Avenue to play the 1945–46 season in an expanded FA Cup. The Avenue advanced to the sixth round, with Gibbons scoring four goals in an 8–2 fourth round second leg rout of Manchester City on 30 January 1946.[10] Avenue were admitted to the Second Division for the 1946–47 season, with Gibbons making 42 appearances and scoring 21 goals. In August 1947 he returned to Brentford, newly relegated to the Second Division, for a club record £8,000 fee.[11] Gibbons was the club's top scorer during the 1947–48 season, scoring 13 times.[8] He made a total of 72 Brentford appearances and scored 19 goals before retiring in February 1949.[8]

Managerial career

Gibbons became manager of Second Division side Brentford in February 1949, taking over from Harry Curtis, the most successful manager in the club's history.[8] Gibbons had been groomed to succeed Curtis at the helm.[8] In the summer of 1949, Gibbons brought former Bradford Park Avenue teammate and future England manager Ron Greenwood to the club he supported as a boy, naming him captain.[12] In February 1951, Gibbons brought football analyst Charles Reep to Griffin Park on a part-time basis until the end of the 1950–51 season. Reep helped improve the team's goals-to-games ratio, which saved them from relegation.[13] Gibbons managed Brentford until the end of the 1951–52 season, making three consecutive top ten finishes in the Second Division, but he found himself at odds with the club's board during a difficult time financially for the Bees.[14] A falling out with Jimmy Hill and Ron Greenwood towards the end of 1951 saw the Bees' form tail off,[15] with the club finishing the 1951–52 season in 10th place, having been as high as 2nd mid-season.[16] Gibbons resigned in August 1952 and was replaced by his assistant, Jimmy Bain.[17]

Gibbons took charge of the Israel national football team in 1956.[18] His tenure began with a 7–1 aggregate defeat over two legs to the Soviet Union in qualifying for the 1956 Summer Olympics. In September 1956, Gibbons presided over Israel's campaign in the inaugural AFC Asian Cup, defeating Hong Kong and South Vietnam on the way to finishing as runners-up to South Korea.[18] After leaving the job, Gibbons stayed on in Israel to manage Liga Leumit side Hapoel Petah Tikva, guiding the club to a runners-up finish in the 1956–57 season.[19] Gibbons' final managerial position came in August 1966, when he was named as manager of Kenya.[20] He stayed in the job until October 1967, when he was replaced by his assistant, Elijah Lidonde.[20] Gibbons would also coach in South Africa and Belgium.[14]

International career

Gibbons was called up to the Football League representative side for a tour of South Africa in 1939.[21] He scored six goals in six caps for England Amateurs in 1938 and 1939 and won one cap for the full England side during World War II.[22][23][24]

Personal life

During the 1930s and through the Second World War, Gibbons was a member of the Royal Air Force.[15] He was demobbed in 1946.[15] Gibbons worked in Kenya for Coca-Cola in the 1960s.[14]

Honours

As a manager

Israel

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Tottenham Hotspur 1937–38[3] Second Division 27 13 6 5 33 18
Brentford 1938–39[9] First Division 11 1 0 0 11 1
Brentford 1947–48[9] Second Division 41 13 2 1 43 14
1948–49[9] 15 3 2 1 17 4
Brentford Total 67 17 4 2 71 19
Career total 94 30 10 7 104 37

References

  1. ↑ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 109. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. ↑ "Jackie Gibbons". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Jack Gibbons". 11v11.com. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Sheffield Wednesday v Tottenham Hotspur, 16 September 1937 – 11v11 match report". 11v11.com. 16 September 1937. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Tottenham Hotspur F.C A-Z of players Retrieved 29 November 2012
  6. ↑ Rippon, Anton (2007). Gas Masks for Goal Posts: Football in Britain During the Second World War. The History Press. ISBN 9780750940313.
  7. ↑ "On this day – special 1 January 2004 – News". tottenhamhotspur.com. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 64. ISBN 0955294916.
  9. 1 2 3 4 White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 375–380. ISBN 0951526200.
  10. ↑ Brian Glanville. "Bert Sproston | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Brentford Football Club Official Matchday Magazine versus Hull City 07/05/05. 2005. p. 46.
  12. ↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 70.
  13. ↑ "Goal Scoring in Association Football: Charles Reep". Keithlyons.me. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 "Hayes & Yeading United FC: The Official Website". Hyufc.com. 27 October 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 TW8: Brentford Official Matchday Programme versus Notts County 24/02/01. Charlton, London. 2001. p. 15.
  16. ↑ Statto Organisation Ltd. "Brentford Home Page for the 1951-1952 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  17. ↑ Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 15.
  18. 1 2 "Jackie Gibbons – national football team manager". Eu-football.info. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "עונת 1958/1959". Hpt.co.il. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  20. 1 2 16 Mar – 14:33. "News: Volunteer quits". FoStats. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "British Fa Xi Tours". Rsssf.com. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "England Matches – The Amateurs 1906–1939". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  23. ↑ "England's amateurs". Sportstaronnet.com. 13 October 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "England – War-Time/Victory Internationals – Details". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
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