Biography
Centre forward George King joined the Tigers in March 1948 at the dawning of the Raich Carter era with league titles, Cup runs and gigantic attendances all to come. Unfortunately George was not a significant part of those successes despite his pedigree (he signed from Newcastle United) and his impressive physique. King filled in for Norman Moore at centre forward for the last two games of the 1947/48 season, which enabled Raich to have a look at the six foot Northumbrian. The new manager was perhaps not so impressed because when matters resumed in August 1948 Moore was restored to the centre forward shirt. King played once more for City, again filling in for Moore in October 1948, and left the club in the April 1949.
George King was born in Warkworth, an ancient fortified village on the Northumbrian coast where the River Coquet flows into the North Sea. In his teenage years King lived in Amble a few miles down the coast and worked as a grocer’s apprentice while his brothers made their ways as footballers, mostly goalkeepers – his older brother Frank had kept goal for Everton and Derby County in the 1930s while another brother Ray was associated with Newcastle United and Leyton Orient during the 1940s before enjoying a long career between the posts at Port Vale. George combined his football with summers spent playing cricket for Amble CC, where he was an accomplished all-rounder.
George was enlisted with the Royal Air Force during World War Two, for whom he played forces football. He also escaped death when a boat he was sailing on was attacked by a submarine missile. When the War ended King joined Division One side Newcastle United in August 1946 and was quickly thrust into the Magpies’ first eleven, starting two Division One fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry City in September 1946, but the presence of more experienced forwards prevented further first team exposure and he moved to Hull City in March 1948.
King left Hull City and joined Division Three South side Port Vale in April 1949, he scored twice on his Valiants debut a few days later to finally break his senior goalscoring duck. His two starts for Vale at the end of the 1948/49 season were supplemented by eight further starts in the early months of the 1949/50 season that yielded three more goals – his brother Ray was in goal for these matches – and George took his Port Vale tally to five goals in 10 appearances. In February 1950 King was on the move again, signing for Division Three North side Barrow and in his sixth start he netted a March 1950 hattrick against Halifax Town. In two years playing on the Cumbrian Coast George scored 38 times in 87 appearances in all competitions, netting twenty times in 1950/51 season and finally proving himself to be a productive Football League striker.
In January 1952 King moved to Division Three North rivals Bradford City for a £4,500 fee, at the time a record paid for a player transferred between Division Three North clubs. At Valley Parade his scoring prowess was maintained, he netted a crowd-pleasing January 1952 debut goal against local rivals Bradford Park Avenue and went on to score nine goals in just 23 appearances.
In October 1952 King was on the move again, transferring to Division Three South side Gillingham where he spent the rest of the 1952/53 season and scored five goals in 21 starts. He remained with Gillingham during the 1953/54 season but made no further senior appearances. In June 1954 he joined Midland League side King’s Lynn, who had just been promoted after winning the Eastern Counties League and Cup double the previous season. King teamed up with his former Hull City teammate Paul Todd, who was first team manager at King’s Lynn, and George scored five goals in 19 appearances for the Norfolk side during the 1954/55 season.
In June 1955 he moved to Ely City where he was appointed player-coach on a two year contract and assisted his new club to winning the Peterborough & District League title at the first attempt. The Robins also reached the FA Cup First Round in November 1956 where they were beaten 2-6 by Torquay United. King became the first team manager at Ely City for the 1957/58 while his brothers Frank (Leicester City, Luton Town) and Ray (Boston United) also held senior coaching roles at football clubs
After four years with the Robins George retired from football in the 1959 close season and became a chiropodist based in Ely. He died in his adopted city in February 2002.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 5 January 1923, Warkworth
Hull City First Game: 24 April 1948, Crewe Alexandra A (Division Three North), 25 years, 110 days old
Hull City Final Game: 2 October 1948, Doncaster Rovers A (Division Three North), 25 years, 271 days old
Clubs
Newcastle United (1946-1948), Hull City (1948-1949), Port Vale (1949-1950), Barrow (1950-1952), Bradford City (1952), Gillingham (1952-1954), King’s Lynn (1954-1955), Ely City (1955-1959)
Hull City Record
Career: 3 apps, 0 goals
George King| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947/48 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1948/49 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |