Gilbert Arthur Alsop (22 September 1908 – 16 April 1992) was an English professional footballer who played 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) ** Sm ...

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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Coventry City, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Ipswich Town.

Early life

Alsop was born in Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire to Arthur George Alsop, a coal miner, and Florence Caroline Alsop (née Thornell). He had three older siblings; Frederick, Hilda and Arthur. After leaving school, he signed for local amateur side Latteridge for a time, before signing for Southern League Bath City in August 1927.

Professional career

In December 1929 he moved to Football League Third Division South side Coventry City on professional terms. He spent two seasons with the ''Sky Blues'' but failed to gain a regular starting place, making only 16 league appearances and scoring four times. He started the first of two very successful spells at Walsall in September 1931, scoring on his debut in a 2–0 win over Doncaster Rovers. He went on to score 15 times in his first season with the ''Saddlers''. In January 1933 he scored the opening goal in Walsall's 2–0 win over Herbert Chapman's

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the FA Cup. A result still regarded as one of the greatest FA Cup upsets of all-time. After a remarkable scoring return of 40 goals in all competitions in 1933–34 and 48 goals in all competitions in 1934–35, Alsop attracted the attention of clubs further up the league and moved to First Division West Bromwich Albion in November 1935. However, Alsop found his first team opportunities were severely limited by the form of

W. G. Richardson William "Ginger" Richardson (29 May 1909 – 29 March 1959) often referred to as W.G. Richardson and by the nickname 'Ginger' to avoid confusion with teammate Bill Richardson, was an English professional footballer, who played as a centre forw ...

and Harry Jones, managing only one league appearance for the club in his two seasons at The Hawthorns. Alsop signed for Ipswich Town in May 1937 and scored 30 goals in 39 senior matches in the Southern League and the Third Division South. He scored in Ipswich's first ever match in the

– a 4–2 victory over Southend United in August 1938. He returned to Walsall in October 1938 and, despite the outbreak of war, made a further 106 appearances and continued his prolific goalscoring form for the midlands side. He played his last full season at

Fellows Park Fellows Park was a football stadium in Walsall, England. It was the home ground of Walsall F.C. from 1896 until 1990, when the team moved to the Bescot Stadium. Fellows Park was situated about a quarter of a mile away from the club's present gro ...

as player-coach to Walsall's third team in 1947–48, before eventually retiring in May 1948. In all competitions, Alsop played 324 times for Walsall and scored 226 goals.

Later life

Alsop worked behind the scenes at

for a further 20 years or so after retiring and later became groundsman of the playing fields adjoining Walsall Arboretum. He was still attending home games at Bescot Stadium, right up to his death in April 1992 at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alsop, Gilbert 1908 births 1992 deaths Bath City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. wartime guest players People from South Gloucestershire District English Football League players English footballers Sportspeople from Gloucestershire Association football forwards