George Henry Camsell (27 November 1902 – 7 March 1966) 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, rugb ...

who scored a club record 325 league goals in 419 games for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

, and 18 goals in nine appearances for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. His 59 goals in one season (1926–27) for Middlesbrough was a

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

record at the time, and has only been bettered once within the English game by

Dixie Dean William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in ...

of Everton in 1927–28. His nine hat-tricks that season remains a Football League record. He also holds the highest goals-to-games ratio for England of anyone who has played more than a single international.

Club career

Born in Framwellgate Moor, Durham City in 1902, Camsell worked as a miner and played for Durham City. He caught the attention of

after scoring 21 goals in 20 games in a season and signed for Middlesbrough on 6 October 1925 for the sum of £500. His debut was against Nottingham Forest on 31 October 1925. He scored three goals for Middlesbrough in the 1925–26 season. The Middlesbrough club record of 59

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

goals in 37 games and 63 goals in all competitions in one season is held by Camsell. He accomplished this feat in the 1926–27 season, his first full season with Middlesbrough. After he had initially struggled for game time and almost joined

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough ha ...

, he made his first appearance of the season on 18 September 1926 after Jimmy McClelland had suffered an injury. Having failed to score on that day, Camsell would only fail to score on two more occasions in the following 25 matches, taking in a run of 12 successive matches in which he scored at least once. He scored five on Christmas Day, 1926 against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and two more in the return fixture on 27 December. In February 1927, Camsell broke the record for league goals in a season by a player, having overtaken Jimmy Cookson's haul of 44 (for Chesterfield in 1925–26). 59 remains the second-highest number of league goals scored and the equal highest number in all competitions in one English league season, behind

's 60 league and 100 total a year later. The nine hat-tricks Camsell scored that season remains an English record for most in a League season. Camsell was Middlesbrough's top scorer in each of his first ten full seasons, and he bagged at least 30 in each of the first five as well as the tenth. Between 1925 and 1939, Camsell scored 345 goals in 453 games for Middlesbrough, including 325 league goals, (the fifth-highest English total of all-time). His goals included 24

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 w ...

s for the club. He played his last League game for Middlesbrough against Leicester City at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It was demolished in 1997 and ...

on 10 April 1939, in a 3–2 victory. Camsell scored the opening goal. He continued to play for them into 1940 following the cessation of the

1939–40 Football League The abandoned 1939–40 season would have been the 48th season of The Football League. The kick-off in all divisions took place on Saturday 26 August 1939.Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald ...

season during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, playing in wartime competitions.

International career

Camsell also won nine caps for

, scoring 18 goals. This is the highest goals-to-games ratio of anyone who has played more than a single international. His goals included a hat-trick in a 6–0 win against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

on 20 November 1929 in the 1930 British Home Championship and four goals in a match against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

on 11 May 1929. He scored in every match he played for England; his nine consecutive scoring appearances are second only to Steve Bloomer.

Coaching career

During the Second World War, Camsell worked in local factories. After the war, he worked for Middlesbrough's backroom staff, firstly as a scout, where he discovered a young

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engli ...

. He then became a coach and eventually the club's assistant secretary.

Death and legacy

Camsell retired in 1963 and died in 1966, aged 63, shortly before that year's World Cup. A suite at Middlesbrough's

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

is named after him and in 2015, calls began for a statue of Camsell to be placed outside the stadium, joining those of George Hardwick and Wilf Mannion. A club spokesman said that such an honour could not be ruled out, adding: "As a club we honour and respect our former heroes and George Camsell is certainly one of those." A statue of George Camsell was subsequently erected outside the stadium, which was unveiled to the public on 2 September 2022. It is in front of the West Stand entrance.

References

External links

Profile on www.englandfc.comProfile on www.englandstats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camsell, George 1902 births 1966 deaths English footballers Association football forwards Esh Winning F.C. players Tow Law Town F.C. players Durham City A.F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players England international footballers Place of death missing Footballers from County Durham Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches Association football scouts