Douglas John Lishman (14 September 1923 – 21 December 1994) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. Lishman, who played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

, featured for clubs

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

throughout his career. Lishman is as well Arsenal's seventh highest goalscorer of all time.

Career

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Lishman first played as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

for non-league Paget Rangers, before signing as a professional for Third Division South

in August 1946. In two seasons with the Saddlers, Lishman scored 26 goals in 59 league appearances. He was signed by

in the summer of 1948 for £10,500, as backup for Reg Lewis, who was only 28 but becoming ever more frequently injured. Lishman made his debut against Sheffield United on 4 September 1948, but after a promising first season (scoring 13 goals in 25 appearances), Lishman's 1949–50 and 1950–51 seasons were marred by injury. Lishman was passed over for the 1950 FA Cup Final (which Arsenal won 2–0), in favour of Lewis and Peter Goring, and then just as he came back into the Arsenal first team, he broke his leg playing against Stoke City in December 1950. However, Lishman recovered to become Arsenal's top scorer in 1950–51, and the next season hit 30 goals, including three

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

s in three successive home matches; Arsenal finished third that season. The following 1951–52 season they reached the 1952 FA Cup Final, only to lose to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

; a series of injuries meant only eight fit players finished the match as no substitutes were allowed in those days. Lishman came close for Arsenal with a header, which clipped the crossbar, but Arsenal still lost the game 1–0. Lishman's disappointment was soon forgotten, as Arsenal won the League Championship in 1952–53. Lishman was again Arsenal's top scorer, this time with 22, and with every goal proving vital as Arsenal won the title on

goal average A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

above Preston North End. His form was good enough for him to be picked for an England B match against Scotland B in March 1953, although he was never capped for the full national side. Lishman was top scorer for another two seasons after that, making it five successive seasons as the club's top scorer in total. With younger men like Derek Tapscott and David Herd taking over goalscoring duties for Arsenal, however, Lishman was dropped from the first team in 1955–56. In all he scored 137 goals in 244 appearances, making him the club's seventh-highest goalscorer of all time. In March 1956 he was sold to Second Division

. Whilst at Forest Lishman, scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Sheffield United, a win that allowed for Forest to be promoted to Division One in 1956–57. Lishman eventually decided to retire as a footballer in the summer of 1957, leaving the game entirely. He joined his father-in law in the furniture retail business in Stoke-on-Trent, later taking over the business himself. He continued to live in Stoke-on-Trent until his death in 1994.

Honours

Arsenal *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1952–53 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

runner-up: 1951–52

References

* ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Lishman, Doug 1923 births 1994 deaths English men's footballers Walsall F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands England men's B international footballers English Football League players English Football League representative players Paget Rangers F.C. players Men's association football inside forwards 20th-century English sportsmen