George Travers

James Edward Travers (19 July 1887 – 6 December 1943),[3] known as George Travers, was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward or centre forward. He made 164 appearances in the Football League, representing a number of clubs prior to and just after the First World War.[4]

This article is about the association football player. For the Welsh rugby union player, see George Travers (rugby union).

George Travers
Personal information
Full name James Edward Travers
Date of birth (1887-07-19)19 July 1887
Place of birth Waterloo, London, England
Date of death 6 December 1943(1943-12-06) (aged 56)
Place of death Palmerston North, New Zealand[1][2]
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1904–1905 Bilston United
1905–1906 Rowley United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1906–1907 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
1907–1908 Birmingham 2 (0)
1908–1909 Aston Villa 4 (4)
1909–1910 Queens Park Rangers 34 (7)
1910–1911 Leicester Fosse 12 (5)
1911–1914 Barnsley 84 (23)
1914–1919 Manchester United 21 (4)
→ Tottenham Hotspur (guest)
1919–1920 Swindon Town 34 (12)
1920 Millwall 2 (0)
1920–1921 Norwich City 29 (11)
1921 Gillingham 10 (1)
1921–1922 Nuneaton Town
1922–1929 Cradley St Luke's
1929–1931 Bilston United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and career

Travers was born in Waterloo, London. He lived in Wolverhampton and began his football career with local teams Bilston United and Rowley United before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1906. He made no league appearances for the club before moving on to Birmingham, where he spent eighteen months and played only twice for the first team.

Transferred to Aston Villa in a part-exchange deal involving Jack Wilcox, he marked his debut in December 1908 with a hat-trick, but played only three more league games, leaving for Queens Park Rangers, then a Southern League club, at the end of the 1908–09 season. A year in London, during which he scored 7 goals from 34 appearances in the League (8 from 41 in all competitions),[5] preceded six months with Leicester Fosse before a more long-lasting move, to Barnsley of the Second Division, in January 1911.[6] At the Yorkshire club he became known by the nickname 'Paddy',[1][7] possibly in reference to a Scottish player of that name who had a decade earlier rather than any personal Irish links.

Travers played in the 1912 FA Cup Final, in which Barnsley beat West Bromwich Albion 1–0 in extra time in the replay, after the first game had ended goalless.[8][1][2][7] The Manchester Guardian's report of the replay praised his shots at goal.[9]

After three years at Barnsley[6] he joined Manchester United, for whom he played 21 games, scoring four goals.[10] After the war he joined Swindon Town, playing 34 games in their last season in the Southern League and scoring 14 goals, which made him the club's second-highest scorer for the season.[11] Returning to the Football League, he spent a few months with Millwall of the newly formed Third Division and the remainder of the 1920–21 season with rivals Norwich City.[1] He finished his league career in the 1921–22 season at Gillingham, then returned to non-League football with Nuneaton Town and Cradley St Luke's, finally calling time on his career with his first club, Bilston United, in May 1931 at the age of 42.[6]

Travers died in Palmerston North, New Zealand, on 6 December 1943 at the age of 56.

References
  1. "Former Norwich City striker's 105-year-old FA Cup winner's medal expected to fetch £8,000 at auction". Eastern Daily Press. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. "Missing 1912 FA Cup medal belongs in Manawatu". Manawatu Standard. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2019 – via Stuff.
  3. George Travers at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  4. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 262. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  5. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1909/10". QPRnet. Ron Norris. Archived from the original (XLS) on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  6. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  7. "Flashback to 1912 – rare photos of life as it was". Anorak News. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  8. "100 years since Reds' FA Cup triumph". Barnsley F.C. 24 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  9. "Barnsley's Victory". Manchester Guardian. 25 April 1912. p. 4.
  10. "George Travers". mufcinfo.com. Mark Graham. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  11. "George Travers". Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
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