George Ernest Petherbridge (19 May 1927 – 4 March 2013) was a professional

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 for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

for seventeen years, between 1945 and 1962.

Early life

Petherbridge was born in Devonport,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in 1927 and was the only child of parents Frederick Petherbridge and Violet Trout. The family relocated to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

when George was young, and he was brought up in the city.

Football career

Petherbridge joined

in 1945, and spent his entire professional career with the club, eventually leaving seventeen years later in 1962. He played as a winger and made 457 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

, and 496 in all competitions, scoring 85 league and seven cup goals. Joining the club in time for the resumption of League football after play had been suspended during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Petherbridge achieved the impressive feat of scoring at least one goal in each of the sixteen seasons immediately after the war. He is one of only three men to have played for Rovers for more than fifteen years, and is the fifth most capped player for the club, behind Stuart Taylor,

Harry Bamford Henry Charles Bamford (8 February 1920 – 31 October 1958) was a professional footballer, who played for Bristol Rovers for his entire professional career. A local man, born and raised in St. Philip's Marsh, he played chiefly as a right-b ...

, Jack Pitt, and

Geoff Bradford Geoffrey Reginald William Bradford (18 July 1927 – 30 December 1994) was an English professional Association football, footballer who spent his entire career at Bristol Rovers F.C., Bristol Rovers and won one international cap for England na ...

. His 85 goals in the Football League make him ''The Pirates 9th-highest goalscorer. After ending his professional career with Rovers, he dropped out of the Football League to join

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

in 1962 and in 1963 had a short spell with Cornish side

Falmouth Town Falmouth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. They are currently members of the and play at Bickland Park. The club were the first Cornish team to reach the first round proper of the FA ...

in the South Western League. On 9 April 2021, Petherbridge became the seventh player to be inducted into the Bristol Rovers Hall of Fame.

Family life

Petherbridge married Rita Walker in 1950, and the couple had three children and eleven grandchildren. Following his retirement from football he worked as a publican, running The Angel in Sherston, and later The Tamar in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. He also worked as a PE teacher and groundsman at

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding s ...

and

Wells Cathedral School Wells Cathedral School is an independent co-educational boarding and day school for 2–18 year olds located in Wells, Somerset, Wells, Somerset, England, which provides an all-round education alongside specialist music and chorister training. T ...

respectively. Petherbridge Way in

is named after Petherbridge. The road lies midway between Bristol Rovers' former home at

Eastville Stadium Eastville Stadium, also known as Bristol Stadium and Bristol Stadium – Eastville, was a stadium in Eastville, a northern suburb of the English city of Bristol. Constructed in 1897, it was the home of Bristol Rovers F.C., the Bristol Bulld ...

and their current ground, the Memorial Stadium. He died on 4 March 2013, at the age of 85.

References

External links

Petherbridge Way
on

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Petherbridge, George 1927 births 2013 deaths English men's footballers Sportspeople from Devonport, Plymouth Men's association football midfielders Bristol Rovers F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players English Football League players Falmouth Town A.F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen