George Yardley (footballer)

George McArthur Yardley (8 October 1942 – 14 November 2018) was a Scottish footballer. Yardley began his career as a goalkeeper before becoming a centre forward, most notably for Tranmere Rovers F.C..

George Yardley
Personal information
Full name George McArthur Yardley[1]
Date of birth (1942-10-08)8 October 1942
Place of birth Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland
Date of death 14 November 2018(2018-11-14) (aged 76)[2]
Place of death Dalgety Bay, Fife, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper, Centre forward
Youth career
Abbotshall Boy's Brigade
Novar Star Youth
Frances Colliery Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1964 East Fife 62 (17)
1964 Forfar Athletic 4 (0)
1965 St. George-Budapest
1966 Luton Town 1 (0)
1966–1969 Tranmere Rovers 76 (49)
1969 St. George-Budapest
1969–1970 Tranmere Rovers 46 (19)
St. George-Budapest
1973–1974 Altrincham
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Yardley played his first football as a goalkeeper as an eight-year-old playing for Dunnikier Primary School. However, on moving to Temple Hall Secondary School he was forced to play as a forward because another goalkeeper was already playing.[4] At Frances Colliery Juniors he played mostly as a forward, occasionally playing in goal.[4]

In 1959 he signed an amateur contract with East Fife as a goalkeeper. After sustaining a hand injury in 1960 Yardley switched to primarily playing as a forward though he did play a number of matches in goal.[4][5] In 1964 Yardley trialled with Forfar Athletic, playing four matches. He then played out the second half of the 1963/1964 season with Montrose.[4]

Yardley played for Australian club St. George-Budapest in three separate stints. He played one season at St. George during the 1965 Australian season after emigrating to Australia in August 1964.[6][7]

On returning from Australia in October 1966, Yardley trialled for a month with English Fourth Division team Luton Town, playing one match.[4][8] In November 1966 he moved to Tranmere Rovers. In four seasons between 1966 and 1970 he played 123 matches, scoring 68 goals.[9] He was leading goal scorer for Rovers on four separate occasions.[4][6][7][10]

His second stint in Australia was in 1969 before returning to Tranmere Rovers.[6] At the completion of his career at Tranmere he moved again to Australia.[7] Yardley had a short stint with Altrincham in the 1973–74 season.[5]

International career

Yardley played one match on 5 March 1960 for Scotland Amateurs against Wales at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock, which ended 3-3.[4][11]

Personal life

After his football career, Yardley became a design draughtsman on the Wirral.[12] He died on 14 November 2018 in a care home at Dalgety Bay, Fife.[2]

References
  1. "George Yardley". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  2. "Announcing the passing of George Yardley", Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 25 November 2018
  3. "Yardley Memories". Rovers Rearguard. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  4. "Voices from the past – George Yardley". merseyworld.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  5. Rowley, Terry. "A to Z of Altrincham Football Club". Altrincham F.C. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  6. "Australian Player Database – Y". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  7. www.since1888.co.uk Retrieved 1 September 2009
  8. "LUTON TOWN : 1946/47 – 2007/08". neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  9. Hilton, Nick (21 August 2003). "On scent of Yardley run". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  10. "Some of Tranmere Rovers Top Scorers". www.tranmere-rovers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  11. "Luton Links". Altrincham F.C. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  12. Edwards, Leigh (26 August 2012), "Back to the Future – Tranmere Rovers FC", Official Shrewsbury Town Matchday Programme: 32–33
  • George Yardley at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.