George William Stacey (April 1881 – 1972) 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 ...

who played at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for several English football clubs, including

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. Born in

Thorpe Hesley Thorpe Hesley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, lying east of the M1 motorway at junction 35. The village has been included within the boundaries of Rotherham town since 1894, having previously be ...

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

, Stacey began his career with Thorpe Hesley F.C. before signing for

in May 1902. He then joined

in August 1905, via a short spell with Thornhill United. In April 1907, he was sold to

for a fee of £200. Stacey made his Manchester United debut on 12 October 1907, playing at

in a 6–1 away win over

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 ...

. That season, he made 18 league appearances and scored one goal as United won the

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 ...

title by nine points over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

- the first major trophy in Manchester United's history. The following year, Stacey played more regularly at right back, playing in 38 matches on the way to the 1909 FA Cup title. In 1910–11, United won the First Division again, albeit only by one point, with Stacey missing only two matches. As a result of his consistency with Manchester United, Stacey went for a trial with the

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

in 1912. However, he never made an appearance for the team. Stacey remained with Manchester United until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

forced the temporary cancellation of competitive football in England. During the war, Stacey made guest appearances for his hometown club, Rotherham County. He retired from football at the end of the 1918–19 War League season in May 1919. He died in 1972 at the age of 91, and by this time he was one of Manchester United's last surviving players from their early successes.

Honours

;

(2): 1907–08, 1910–11 *

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 ...

(1): 1908–09

External links

Profile
at StretfordEnd.co.uk

at MUFCInfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Stacey, George 1881 births Footballers from Rotherham English men's footballers Thorpe Hesley F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Rotherham County F.C. players 1972 deaths Men's association football fullbacks