George William Walker (30 May 1934 – 8 August 2012) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward. He scored 58 goals from 179 appearances in the Football League for Bristol City and Carlisle United[2] before injury ended his career.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George William Walker[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 May 1934[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sunderland, England | ||
| Date of death | 8 August 2012 (aged 78)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Carlisle, England | ||
| Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Chippenham Town | ||
| 1956–1959 | Bristol City | 15 | (5) |
| 1959–1963 | Carlisle United | 164 | (53) |
| 1963–19?? | Morecambe | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Life and career
editWalker was born in Sunderland.[1] While doing his National Service, he played non-league football for Chippenham Town before signing for Second Division club Bristol City in May 1956.[1][3] He scored twice in 17 senior appearances, of which 15 were in the league,[1][4] before returning to the north of England to join Carlisle United of the Fourth Division on 2 March 1959 for a £1500 fee.[5]
He made his debut the following day, and scored twice as Carlisle beat Oldham Athletic 3–0.[3] He continued as a regular in the first team, scoring 58 goals from 177 appearances in all competitions (53 from 164 in the league).[1][6] Walker was the club's top scorer in both 1960–61 and 1961–62,[3] when the team went into the last two matches of the season in sixth place, two points outside the promotion positions.[7] He scored both goals in a 2–1 win at Doncaster Rovers and the first in a 2–0 win at home to Chester that gave Carlisle the four points they needed to overtake Bradford City and York City and make sure of their first ever promotion.[3][8] His Carlisle career was ended when he broke his leg playing in a reserve match,[3] although he was able to go back into non-league football with Morecambe.[2]
Walker settled in the Carlisle area, where he and former teammate Ginger Thompson went into the building trade.[9] They also founded a football club, Carlisle City, in 1975 "to give local lads somewhere to play".[10] Walker was married to Val; the couple had three sons.[9] He died of leukaemia in Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, in 2012 at the age of 78.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "George Walker". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ a b "George Walker". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Steele, David (13 August 2012). "George Walker 1934–2012". Carlisle United F.C. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Player information: George Walker". citystats.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Walker goes for £1,500". Daily Mirror. London. 3 March 1959. p. 21.
- ^ Colman, Jon (13 August 2012). "'We need more depth and quality' admits Carlisle Utd boss". News and Star. Carlisle. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Carlisle United 1961–1962 Table on Wednesday 25th April 1962". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Carlisle United 1961–1962 Table". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ a b c "Carlisle Utd pay tribute to promotion hero George Walker, 78". News and Star. Carlisle. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Carlisle Utd legend Ginger Thompson celebrates his 80th". News and Star. Carlisle. 21 January 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.