George Handley (footballer, born 1886)

George Albert Handley (1886–1952) was an English professional footballer who played most of his career as a winger with Bradford City.

George Handley
Personal information
Full name George Albert Handley[1]
Date of birth 1886[1]
Place of birth Totley, Sheffield, England[1]
Date of death 1952[1]
Place of death Bradford, England[1]
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Playing position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1902–1905 Hallam
1905–1906 Chesterfield Town 25 (4)
1906–1911 Bradford City 86 (29)
1911–1912 Southampton 24 (2)
1912–1913 Goole Town
1913–1914 Bradford City 1 (1)
1914–1919 Barrow
1918–1919 → Sheffield United (guest)
1919–1922 Bradford City 17 (1)
Teams managed
1912–1913 Goole Town
1922 Brühl (coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Born in Totley, Sheffield, he began his professional career with Chesterfield Town before moving to Bradford in 1906. After five years at Bradford, Handley left for Southampton in 1911 but his stay was only a brief one as he moved on to become player-manager of Goole Town in 1912. He re-joined Bradford in 1913 but was released at the end of the season and signed for Barrow with whom he remained for the duration of World War I, occasionally guesting for his home town club Sheffield United. After the war Handley returned to Bradford for a third spell, ending his playing career with the club, and later spent some time as coach of Swiss side Brühl.

Playing career

As a child, Handley represented Sheffield Schools four times in the annual matches against London Schools.[2] Handley started his professional career at the age of 17 with Hallam before moving to Chesterfield in January 1905. After two seasons with Chesterfield he joined Bradford City for the first time in October 1906 for a fee of £250.[2]

Handley was a prolific scorer at Bradford, and after making his debut on 27 October 1906 in a 2–1 victory over Glossop North End,[2] he played another 27 games in his first season scoring ten goals. In the 1907–08 season Handley scored 16 goals—a club record for a winger—from 37 games helping City to the Second Division championship.[2] He struggled to repeat this form in the First Division and by 1911 Handley had fallen out of favour after making just 21 appearances in three seasons since promotion.[2] His availability attracted the attention of Southampton's new manager George Swift, whom Handley had first met while at Chesterfield. Swift was Southampton's first appointment as manager and promptly embarked on a spending spree, signing 11 players in six weeks, including Handley.[3]

Having joined Southampton in May 1911, Handley was immediately drafted into the first team on the left-wing, making his debut on 2 September 1911 at home to Millwall. Described as "an orthodox player, who depended on team-mates to create openings"[4] he was, however, one of Swift's better signings. After Swift was dismissed at the end of the season, Handley left The Dell and took up a post of player-manager with Goole Town in April 1912.[1]

In December 1913 he returned to Bradford City where he made just one appearance,[2] before signing for Barrow just prior to the outbreak of the First World War.[1] During the war, Handley joined the Royal Flying Corps,[2] and made occasional guest appearances for Sheffield United,[1] and Stoke, (playing twice in 1915–16),[5] before returning to Bradford City after the cessation of hostilities.[1] After two more seasons with City, Handley moved to Switzerland to take up coaching positions with Brühl in April 1922.[2]

Later life

Handley returned to the armed services after leaving Switzerland and was reported as being stationed at Coal Aston Airfield at the end of 1922.[1]

Career statistics

Source:[6]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chesterfield Town 1904–05 Second Division 720072
1905–06 Second Division 9120111
1906–07 Second Division 910091
Total 25420274
Bradford City 1906–07 Second Division 2810303110
1907–08 Second Division 3716213917
1908–09 First Division 831093
1909–10 First Division 100010
1910–11 First Division 12000120
1913–14 First Division 100010
1919–20 First Division 13100131
1920–21 First Division 301040
Total 103307111031
Career total 128349113735

Honours

Bradford City

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References
  1. Denis Clarebrough & Andrew Kirkham (2008). Sheffield United Who's Who. Hallamshire Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-874718-69-7.
  2. Frost, Terry (1988). Bradford City A Complete Record 1903–1988. Breedon Books Sport. p. 104. ISBN 0-907969-38-0.
  3. Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
  4. Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  5. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  6. George Handley at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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