George Heywood

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Not to be confused with Birmingham, Chesterfield and Southport footballer George Haywood or rugby player George Hayward (rugby).

George Heywood
Personal information
Full name George Heywood[1]
Date of birth (1907-01-12)12 January 1907[2]
Place of birth Clayton, Manchester, England[1]
Date of death 7 September 1985(1985-09-07) (aged 78)[1]
Place of death Guernsey, United Kingdom[1]
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3]
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
1921–1927 South Salford Lads
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1928–1930 Manchester City 0 (0)
1930–1935 Altrincham 221 (3)
1935–1936 Port Vale 23 (0)
1936–1937 Southport 14 (0)
1937–1938 Hyde United 41 (0)
1938–1939 Northwich Victoria
1939 Stalybridge Celtic
1939–1940 Altrincham 0 (0)
International career
1921 England schools 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Heywood (12 January 1907 – 7 September 1985) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Port Vale and Southport.[4]

Early and personal life[edit]

George Heywood was born on 12 January 1907 in Clayton, Manchester.[5] His father, Fred, played professional football for Newcastle United and Blackpool.[5] He died of a heart attack on 7 September 1985, whilst on holiday in Guernsey.[5]

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Heywood played for South Salford Lads from 1921 to 1927 and was capped by England Schoolboys against Wales in 1921.[5] He was spotted by Billy Meredith and signed to Manchester City as an amateur.[5] He played 11 Central League games at left-back for the Reserves, and also played for Oldham Athletic Reserves in the Midweek League.[5]

Altrincham[edit]

Heywood joined Altrincham and played two Cheshire County League games at right-back during the 1928–29 campaign.[5] He signed a contract with the club in April 1930, playing the last four games of the 1929–30 season at right-back.[5] He missed just two games of the 1930–31 season, featuring in both full-back positions.[5] He played 50 games from right-back of the 1931–32 campaign, but rejected interest from Football League clubs such as Crystal Palace and Burnley as he was satisfied with his job at the GEC as a mechanical inspector.[5] He missed just three games in the 1932–33 season.[5] He won the Cheshire Senior Cup with the club in 1934, as Altrincham beat Congleton Town 1–0 in the final at Edgeley Park.[5] He also scored his first goal during the 1933–34 season, converting a penalty kick.[5] Altrincham finished second to Wigan Athletic in the 1934–35 season and also reached the semi-finals in both the Cheshire Senior Cup and the Cheshire County Cup; he scored two goals in 55 appearances playing across from former England international left-back Billy Felton.[5]

Later career[edit]

Heywood joined Port Vale for a £250 fee in November 1935.[1] His debut came in a 9–2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.[1] Despite the heavy loss he remained he a regular for the rest of the season, making 21 appearances as the "Valiants" were relegated out of the Second Division.[1] He lost his place soon into the next season however, and was transferred to Third Division North rivals Southport in November 1936.[1] Southport were suffering an injury crisis and trainer Jimmy Seddon and known Heywood from his time at Altrincham.[5] He spent the 1937–38 campaign with Hyde United, making 41 Cheshire County League appearances and also playing three cup games.[6] He later played for Northwich Victoria and Stalybridge Celtic, before returning to Altrincham.[1] He retired from football in 1940.[5]

Style of play[edit]

Heywood was a full-back with pace and tackling ability, as well as passing technique and good positional sense.

Career statistics[edit]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Altrincham 1928–29[5] Cheshire County League 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1929–30[5] Cheshire County League 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
1930–31[5] Cheshire County League 41 1 1 0 6 0 48 1
1931–32[5] Cheshire County League 41 0 6 0 3 0 50 0
1932–33[5] Cheshire County League 40 0 6 0 6 0 52 0
1933–34[5] Cheshire County League 35 1 8 0 5 0 48 1
1934–35[5] Cheshire County League 42 1 4 1 9 0 55 2
1935–36[5] Cheshire County League 16 0 5 0 1 0 22 0
Total 221 3 30 1 30 0 281 3
Port Vale 1935–36[7] Second Division 21 0 0 0 0 0 21 0
1935–36[7] Third Division North 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 23 0 0 0 0 0 23 0
Southport 1936–37[7] Third Division North 14 0 2 0 0 0 16 0
Hyde United 1937–38[6][8] Cheshire County League 41 0 0 0 3 0 44 0

Honours[edit]

Altrincham

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 135. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ "Player Details". SFC FPA. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Port Vale. Famous coach". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. xvi – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 123. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Altrincham FC Legends". www.lusoweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Hyde United Football Club: Database". www.hydeunited.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c George Heywood at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  8. ^ "Hyde United Football Club: Database". www.hydeunited.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
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