George Hunter (footballer, born 1885)

George Charles Hunter (2 June 1885 – March 1934) was an English professional footballer who played as a half back in the Football League for Aston Villa, Oldham Athletic, Chelsea and Manchester United.

George Hunter
Hunter with Aston Villa in 1910.
Personal information
Full name George Charles Hunter[1]
Date of birth (1885-06-02)2 June 1885[1]
Place of birth Nowshera, British India
Date of death March 1934 (1934-04) (aged 48)[1]
Place of death Lambeth, England
Height 5 ft 7.5 in (171 cm)[2]
Position(s) Half back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Maidstone United
1907–1908 Croydon Common 13 (1)
1908–1912 Aston Villa 91 (1)
1912–1913 Oldham Athletic 40 (1)
1913–1914 Chelsea 30 (2)
1914–1915 Manchester United 22 (2)
1915–1916 → Croydon Common (wartime) 18 (3)
1916–1917 → Southampton (wartime) 17 (0)
1916–1918 → Brentford (wartime) 18 (0)
1918–1919 → Birmingham (wartime) 21 (2)
1919 Portsmouth 8 (0)
National team
The Football League XI 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Nowshera, British India, Hunter played for Aston Villa, Oldham Athletic and Chelsea during his early career.[1] In March 1914, he was sold to Manchester United.[3] He captained the club during the 1914–15 season and stayed with United until January 1915, when his contract was cancelled due to a training ground incident.[3] He played for Croydon Common, Southampton, Brentford and Birmingham as a guest player during the First World War and finished his career with Portsmouth of the Southern League during the 1919–20 season.[1][2][4]

Military service

Hunter joined the Royal West Kent Regiment of the British Army in December 1903, rising through the ranks to lance corporal by February 1906.[3] He served in Malta, but was found guilty of theft and receiving stolen goods by court-martial in December 1906 and served 140 days hard labour before being discharged in May 1907.[3]

Over a year after the outbreak of the First World War, Hunter enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment in September 1915 and served in the 10th (Reserve) Battalion until June 1916.[3] He was sent to France to join the 9th (Service) Battalion in August 1916, but bouts of dysentery saw him posted back to Britain as a fitness instructor.[3] He was demobbed after the Armistice in November 1918.[3]

Personal life

After his retirement from football, Hunter worked as a sports writer.[3]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Croydon Common 1907–08[2] Southern League Second Division 13 1 1 0 14 1
Aston Villa 1908–09[2] First Division 15 0 1 0 16 0
1909–10[2] 32 1 3 0 35 1
1910–11[2] 33 0 2 0 35 0
1911–12[2] 11 0 — 11 0
Total 91 1 6 0 97 1
Oldham Athletic 1911–12[2] First Division 17 1 2 0 19 1
1912–13[2] 23 0 4 0 27 0
Total 40 1 6 0 46 1
Chelsea 1912–13[2] First Division 11 1 — 11 1
1913–14[2] 19 1 2 0 21 1
Total 30 2 2 0 32 2
Manchester United 1913–14[2] First Division 7 0 — 7 0
1914–15[2] 15 2 1 0 16 2
Total 22 2 1 0 23 2
Portsmouth 1919–20[2] Southern League First Division 8 0 0 0 8 0
Career Total 204 7 16 0 220 7

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 148. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. "George Hunter" (PDF). Croydon Common Football Club. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  3. "George Hunter". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  4. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 363–365. ISBN 0951526200.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
George Stacey		 Manchester United captain
1914–1915		 Succeeded by
Patrick O'Connell


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