George Wilson

Wilson was born in Kirkham, Lancashire, and after playing schoolboy football in both Blackpool and Preston, he joined Fleetwood and then Morecambe, playing in the West Lancashire League. He was spotted by a third Fylde Coast club, Blackpool, and signed for the Bloomfield Road outfit in early 1912, making his debut on 27 January in a home victory over Fulham. After starting his first two games as a forward, Wilson was moved into a midfield role for the final seven games of the 1911–12 season. His only goal for Blackpool that campaign was the winner in a single-goal victory over Birmingham City at Bloomfield Road on 20 April 1912. He was Blackpool's top scorer in his second season at the club, with ten goals in 24 League appearances. Despite his efforts, Blackpool finished at the foot of the Second Division table, but were re-elected for the following season, of which he missed all but one game due to injury. On his return to the team during 1914–15, he established himself at centre half, and managed to get two goals to his name – the first in a 5–1 rout of Clapton Orient on 6 February 1915, and the second in a 2–1 defeat at Nottingham Forest seven days later. By the time that League football resumed after the First World War, he was "reckoned to be one of the best centre-halves in the game". In his final season at Blackpool, 1919–20, he made 22 League appearances and scored one goal – in the opening game of the season, a 4–2 victory over Leeds City at Bloomfield Road. His…