10th August: George Hilsdon was born on this day 135 years ago, in 1885.
George Hilsdon was born in Bromley-by-Bow on the 10th August 1885 and was a pupil of Marner St School. The Hilsdon family moved to East Ham where George transferred to Plashet Lane School and captained East Ham Boys to victory in the 1900/01 Corinthian Shield. After learning his trade with South West Ham and Castle Swifts, and playing as an amateur for Clapton Orient and Luton, Hilsdon signed for West Ham United at the start of the 1904/05 season. George’s brother Jack had already made a solitary appearance for the Hammers in September 1903.
The slim 19-year-old made a goalscoring debut for the Southern League Hammers on 11th February 1905 in a 2-0 home win against New Brompton. On 17th April 1905, after scoring in a 3-0 win against Fulham, Hilsdon was injured and unable to play for the rest of the season. However, his record of four goals in seven games represented an outstanding start to his football career. Hilsdon’s injury problems persisted in 1905/06 and, with the signing of fellow centre-forward Harry Stapley, he was restricted to nine league games, scoring three times. Following seven goals in 18 matches in all competitions, usually-shrewd manager Syd King allowed Hilsdon to move across London to Chelsea on a free transfer.
Hilsdon made an immediate impact for Chelsea, who were playing in the Second Division of the Football League at the time, scoring five goals on his debut in a 9-2 win over Glossop. In November 1906, just a few months after his move to Stamford Bridge, Hilsdon was given the nickname ‘Gatling Gun George’ for his “simply unstoppable” shots. He helped Chelsea to promotion to the First Division in his first season, while earning £4 a week, and scored six goals in an FA Cup tie against Worksop the following campaign (a club record which remains unequalled). He was the First Division’s joint second highest scorer in his debut season in the top flight.
Between February 1907 and April 1909 Hilsdon scored an incredible 14 goals in just eight international appearances for England. Chelsea were relegated in 1909/10 and Hilsdon struggled for form with rumours circulating of a serious drink problem. After scoring 107 goals in 164 games for Chelsea, becoming the first player to reach the 100-goal mark for the club, Hilsdon was allowed to return to West Ham in June 1912. A weather vane modelled on Hilsdon is still a feature of Stamford Bridge – it was said to cause great misfortune if removed and, when it had to be removed during renovation in the late 1970s, Chelsea suffered both financial and footballing difficulties.
The East Ham Echo reported that, during his first home game back in east London, Hilsdon “had to run the gauntlet of some very uncomplimentary remarks from part of the stand” during a 1-1 draw against Merthyr Town on 21st September 1912. He responded by being the Hammers’ top scorer in 1912/13 and his lively, jesting, good-natured humour helped maintain a good team spirit. The excellent form of Syd Puddefoot, the new kid on the block the following season, saw Hilsdon lose his place in the side. Charlie Paynter once said “you could say George Hilsdon was the making of Syd”, such was the help the master gave his apprentice. Puddefoot was a regular visitor to the Hilsdon family home in Westbury Road, off Green Street.
Hilsdon returned to score twice against Millwall in a 3-2 home win in April 1914 but the outbreak of World War One that year would curtail his career – he scored 28 goals in 78 appearances in all competitions during his second spell with the Hammers, giving him an overall record of 35 goals in 96 matches for the club.
After trying to avoid active service and reportedly being caught by the police hiding in a chicken run, Hilsdon joined the East Surrey Regiment and served on the Western Front. A mustard gas attack at Arras in 1917 badly damaged Hilsdon’s lungs and, although he had a brief spell playing for Chatham Town after the war, he was forced to retire from the game. He scraped a living in various ways including working as a teaboy on building sites and a period spent with Fred Karno’s Troup, a popular travelling vaudeville act. He was also known to go around several East End pubs raffling boxes of chocolates but arranging for the prize to be won on every occasion by his wife.
George Hilsdon died in Leicester on 10th September 1941 at the age of 56. Only four people (his son, daughter, son-in-law and grandson) attended his funeral, which was paid for by the Football Association. After 74 years in an unmarked grave, Chelsea supporters launched a crowdfunding appeal to pay for a headstone which was laid in October 2015 at the site of his burial, Oadsby and Wigston cemetery in Leicestershire. Chelsea supporter Andy Scott located the site of the grave and led the appeal; he also sought permission to put the headstone in place from George’s family. This was granted by Hilsdon’s grandson, also called George and a West Ham supporter, who was said to be “overwhelmed” at the tribute.