George Poland (21 September 1913 – 6 October 1988) was a Welsh 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 as a goalkeeper. During his career, he made over 50 appearances in the

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, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

during spells with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and won two caps for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1939. His career was interrupted by the outbreak of

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 ...

which began just after he was signed by

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

side

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

meaning he never played for the side. During wartime, he also gained four international caps for Wales.

Career

Born in Penarth, Cardiff, Poland began his career playing as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

with local amateur sides Cogan and Penarth Mission where his performances attracted the attention of

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

side

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

who offered him a trial. Converted to playing as a winger by manager

Ted Vizard Edward Vizard (7 June 1889 – 25 December 1973) was a Welsh international Association football, footballer who became a manager. He spent almost all his playing career at Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers. Playing career Born in Cogan, V ...

, he impressed enough to sign for the club but failed to break into the first-team and left the club at the end of the 1934–35 season without making an appearance. He instead began playing as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

and joined his hometown club

, who had previously rejected him as an outfield player prior to his move to Swindon. Despite having conceded seven goals in a reserve fixture several days before, he was handed his professional debut on 11 January 1936 in a 2–1 defeat to

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

after replacing

Jack Deighton James Deighton was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Deighton began his professional career with Everton but was unable to displace Ted Sagar from the first team. He moved to Cardiff City Cardiff City ...

in the starting line-up, becoming the third goalkeeper used by the club as they struggled at the bottom of the Third Division South. Following his debut, he played in six consecutive matches but did not return to the first-team until midway through the following season when he replaced Bill Fielding as first choice goalkeeper. In 1938, he joined

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

side

where he spent one season, breaking into the first-team following an injury to Pat McMahon, and impressed enough to earn a call-up to the

Wales national football team The Wales national football team () represents Wales in international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales. They have been a member of FIFA since ...

, playing 2 matches. He played his first match on 15 March 1939 in a 3–1 victory over Ireland and his last match on 21 May 1939 in a 2–1 defeat to

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. His form attracted the attention of

and he joined the club on 28 June 1939 for a fee of around £4,000. However, the

was suspended following the outbreak of

and he never played for the side. During the war years, he served in the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WLSH GDS; ), part of the Guards and Parachute Division, Guards Division, is one of the Foot guards, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the World War I, First ...

and appeared as a guest player in wartime fixtures for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, Cardiff,

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

and also earned four wartime international caps for Wales. When the Football League resumed at the end of the war, Poland rejoined Cardiff City and played in the opening two matches of the 1946–47 season, defeats to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

and Swindon Town, but lost his place in the side to Danny Canning. He later played for non-league side Lovell's Athletic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland, George 1913 births Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Place of birth missing Men's association football goalkeepers Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Cardiff City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Footballers from Cardiff Cardiff City F.C. wartime guest players Leeds United F.C. wartime guest players Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Crystal Palace F.C. wartime guest players 1988 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Welsh Guards soldiers English Football League players