Vic Lambden

Victor David Lambden (25 October 1925 – 4 July 1996) was an English professional footballer who played for Bristol Rovers in the English Football League.

Vic Lambden
Personal information
Full name Victor David Lambden
Date of birth (1925-10-25)25 October 1925
Place of birth Bristol, England
Date of death 4 July 1996(1996-07-04) (aged 70)
Place of death Bristol, England
Playing position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
????–1945 Oldland Abbotonians
1945–1955 Bristol Rovers 269 (117)
1955–1961 Trowbridge Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played for a local amateur side before joining Bristol Rovers in 1945. He was prolific goalscorer during his ten years with the club. After his professional career he returned to amateur football.

Early and personal life

Lambden was born in Keynsham in 1925 to parents Arthur Lambden and Ethel Chinn, and was the youngest of four children. He had two older sisters (Joan and Frances) and one brother (Graham).[1]

Lambden married Bristol Rovers fan Grace Ford at St Anne's Church in Oldland on 28 February 1949. His brother Graham served as best man for the ceremony.[2]

Career

Lambden began his footballing career playing for his local team, Oldland Abbotonians, before joining Bristol Rovers in 1945.[3] He went on to make 269 appearances in the Football League over the next ten years, scoring 117 goals.[4]

He made the best of starts to his Football League career, scoring on his debut for Rovers in the opening game of the 1946–47 season. This game, a 2–2 draw against Reading, also marked the return of League football after it was suspended during World War II.[5]

On 19 March 1948, Lambden broke the Bristol Rovers club record for the fastest hat-trick in a match. His nine-minute treble (the goals coming in the 18th, 25th and 27th minutes) in a game against Aldershot remained the club's fastest until Dai Ward scored a four-minute hat-track in 1956. As of 2016, Lambden's remains the joint second-fastest in the club's history.[6]

By the end of his time with Rovers he was the club's all-time second-highest goalscorer, behind his teammate Geoff Bradford. His 117-goal tally would later be surpassed by Alfie Biggs and Harold Jarman, but he remains the fourth on the club's top goalscorers list into the 21st century. Over the period of his time playing at Eastville he had become widely known for his successful partnership with fellow forward Bradford, and the pair would later die just eighteen months apart from each other.[7]

After retiring from professional football, he dropped out of the league to play for Trowbridge Town.[8]

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References
  1. "Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records". Retrieved 8 August 2016 – via Findmypast.
  2. "Vic Lambden Married". Western Daily Press. 1 March 1949. Retrieved 8 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Football Clubs". Bitton Parish History Group. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. Hugman, ed. (2015)
  5. Byrne & Jay (2014)
  6. "Matty Taylor: Rovers' striker joy at 12-minute hat-trick". BBC Sport. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  7. Byrne & Jay (2003), p. 501
  8. Byrne & Jay (2003), p. 435

Bibliography
  • Byrne, Stephen; Jay, Mike (2003). Bristol Rovers Football Club: The Definitive History 1883–2003. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2717-2.
  • Byrne, Stephen; Jay, Mike (2014). Bristol Rovers: The Official Definitive History. Stroud: Amberley. ISBN 9781445636191.
  • Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2015). PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2015. Reigate: G2 Entertainment. ISBN 978-1-7828-1167-1.
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