George Gresham (born 1874) was a

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 ...

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 ...

. Gresham was born in

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Gainsborough () is a market town and civil parish in the West Lindsey Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. The population was 20,842 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 23,243 in 2019. It lies on the east bank of the ...

and played for

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

of the

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

before moving in 1895 to Thames Ironworks, the team that later became

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. Gresham worked as a ships plater at

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cann ...

and played for the

works team A works team, sometimes also referred to as factory team and company team, is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business, institution, or organization in a broad sense. Works teams have very close ties with thei ...

, having previously played for Trinity in his hometown. In an experimental 'floodlit friendly' on 16 March 1896, Thames Ironworks faced Woolwich Arsenal for the first time. George Gresham scored twice, in a game that Woolwich Arsenal won 5–3. He was a regular for three seasons for "The Irons", and was part of the team that were London League champions in the 1897–98 season and Southern League Division Two champions the following year.

References

1874 births Year of death missing Footballers from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Thames Ironworks F.C. players {{England-footy-forward-1870s-stub

See also

References