George Whyte (footballer)

George Whyte (24 March 1909 – 23 October 1992) was a Scottish professional footballer who scored 49 goals from 372 appearances in the Football League playing for Accrington Stanley and Lincoln City. He also played in the Scottish Football League for Dunfermline Athletic, for Rhyl Athletic in Wales, and for English non-league club Gainsborough Trinity. He played as a left half or outside left.[4][5]

George Whyte
Personal information
Full name George Whyte[1]
Date of birth (1909-03-24)24 March 1909[1]
Place of birth Cowdenbeath, Scotland
Date of death 23 October 1992(1992-10-23) (aged 83)[1]
Height 5 ft 8+12 in (1.74 m)[2]
Position(s) Outside left / left half
Youth career
Kelty Rangers[3]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1927–1928 Dunfermline Athletic 16 (0)
1928–1929 Rhyl Athletic
1929–1931 Accrington Stanley 73 (15)
1931–1939 Lincoln City 299 (34)
Gainsborough Trinity
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

edit

Whyte was born in Cowdenbeath, Fife, Scotland,[1] and played in the Scottish Football League for Dunfermline Athletic.[5][3] He moved south to play for Welsh club Rhyl Athletic and then signed for Third Division North club Accrington Stanley. He made his debut in the 1929–30 Football League season, and went on to make 73 league appearances, scoring 15 goals,[4] before he and Stanley teammate Harold Riley joined fellow Northern Section club Lincoln City in the 1931 close season.[6] According to a season preview in the Daily Express, Whyte was "expected to be a useful substitute" for Walter Lax, who had been transferred to Blackpool for a "substantial sum".[7]

Whyte made his debut in the first match of 1931–32 and played in every match that season as Lincoln won the Northern Section title and promotion to the Second Division.[1][8] Originally an outside left, he was converted to play at left half in the following season.[6] Whyte set a club record of 183 consecutive appearances in league matches, between March 1934 and September 1938.[6] He left Lincoln at the end of the 1938–39 season, having made 322 appearances in all first-team competitions,[1] a total that at the time was the third-highest in the club's history.

After his football career ended, Whyte worked for the Lincoln Co-operative Society.[6] He died in 1992 at the age of 83.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "George Whyte". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Retrieved 7 March 2013. Season details are sourced via the Season Stats dropdown menu at the bottom right of this page. The site is partly subscription-based, but only free-access sections are used for reference. If pop-up login dialogue boxes appear, press the "Cancel" button to proceed.
  2. ^ "Lincoln City. Captures: Raw and Corbett". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. xiii – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  5. ^ a b "Scottish League: First Division". The Scotsman. 29 August 1927. p. 9.
  6. ^ a b c d "#67 – George Whyte". League Legends. Lincoln City F.C. 28 June 2007. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Strong forwards". Daily Express. 18 August 1931. p. 13.
  8. ^ "Between The Wars: 1919–1945". Lincoln City F.C. May 2012. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2013.