George Moorhead

George Henry Moorhead (27 May 1895 – 20 June 1975)[1] was a Northern Irish international footballer who played as a centre half in the 1920s. Although born in New Zealand, Moorhead made three international appearances for Ireland. He played his club football with Southampton in England and with Linfield and Glenavon in Northern Ireland.

George Moorhead
Personal information
Full name George Henry Moorhead
Date of birth (1895-05-27)27 May 1895
Place of birth Christchurch, New Zealand
Date of death 20 June 1975(1975-06-20) (aged 80)
Place of death Lurgan, Northern Ireland
Height 11 ft 5 in (3.48 m)
Playing position(s) Half back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1918–1920 Glenavon
1920–1921 Southampton 9 (0)
1922 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (0)
1922–1924 Linfield
1924–1925 Glenavon
1925–1930 Linfield
1930–1931 Heart of Midlothian 0 (0)
National team
1923–1929 Ireland 3 (0)
1924–1928 Irish League 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Moorhead was born in Christchurch, New Zealand[2] but moved to Ireland as a child. During the First World War, he enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles,[3] and played football for the regimental team. On the cessation of his military service, he played for Glenavon.[4]

Moorhead joined Southampton in August 1920, at the start of their first season in Division Three of the Football League. He made his debut on 18 December 1920, when manager Jimmy McIntyre dropped Alec Campbell after two defeats against Grimsby Town. The match at Reading ended in a 4–0 victory and Moorhead retained his place for 13 matches, including four in the FA Cup.[5] With his "talent for giving precise passes", Moorland seemed to be heading for a long career with the Saints,[3] when he had his registration cancelled by the Football Association and was suspended for twelve months because of an "irregularity covering amateurs".[2][3]

After serving his suspension, he joined Brighton & Hove Albion in August 1922,[3] where he made one league appearance[6] before moving back to Northern Ireland in December.[3]

He then joined Linfield where he remained for nine years, interrupted by a spell back at Glenavon. At Linfield, he became "one of their all-time greats" and helped them win the Irish League and defeat Glentoran in the final of the Irish Cup in his first season.[2] He was also on the losing side in the 1926 cup final but was left out, at his own request, of the side that defeated Ballymena United in 1930.[2] In the 1926 final, he was closely marking Belfast Celtic's centre-forward Sammy Curran, thus preventing him from getting much time with the ball, when he was hit with a "fearful kick" from Curran's colleague, Jimmy Ferris. Moorhead spent much of the rest of the match trying to gain retribution against Ferris, allowing Curran to score three goals.[7]

Described as "an extremely consistent performer", Moorhead rarely missed a match for Linfield and on match days he used to walk from his home at Lurgan to Windsor Park in Belfast (21 miles) – he referred to this as his "morning dander".[2]

Moorhead wound up his career in Scotland with Heart of Midlothian for the 1930–31 season.[4]

International career

Moorhead made his international debut for Ireland on 3 March 1923, in a 1–0 British Home Championship defeat to Scotland.[8] He then had to wait five years before his next international appearance, in an unofficial friendly against France on 21 February 1928,[2] followed four days later by a British Home Championship match against Scotland, this time ending 1–0 to the Irish. In this match, Moorhead was described as being "most conspicuous for cleverness and consistency".[9]

Moorhead's fourth and final cap came a year later, also against Scotland; Scotland won comfortably 7–3, with four goals from Hughie Gallacher.[10]

Moorhead also made nine appearances for the Irish League between 1924 and 1928.[2]

International appearances

Moorhead made three appearances for Ireland in official international matches, as follows:[11]

DateVenueOpponentResult[12]GoalsCompetition
3 March 1923Windsor Park, Belfast Scotland0–10British Home Championship
25 February 1928Firhill Park, Glasgow Scotland1–00British Home Championship
23 February 1929Windsor Park, Belfast Scotland3–70British Home Championship
Win Draw Loss

Honours
Linfield
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References
  1. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  2. "George "Barney" Moorhead". Northern Ireland Football Greats. 9 November 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  3. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 248. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  4. "Moorhead, George 'Barney'". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  5. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
  6. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 188. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  7. "Jimmy Ferris". Northern Ireland Football Greats. 26 November 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  8. "Scotland's Success at Belfast". Ireland 0 Scotland 1. www.londonhearts.com. 3 March 1923. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  9. "Scotland Beaten at Firhill". Scotland 0 Ireland 1. www.londonhearts.com. 25 February 1928. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  10. "Ireland 3 Scotland 7". Scottish FA. 23 February 1929. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  11. "George "Barney" Moorhead". International career details. eu-football.info. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  12. Ireland score first
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