George Hunter (footballer, born 1885)

George Hunter
	Hunter with Aston Villa in 1910
Personal information
Full name	George Charles Hunter[1]
Date of birth	2 June 1885[1]
Place of birth	Nowshera, Punjab, British India (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan)
Date of death	1967 (aged 81)[2]
Place of death	Portsmouth, England
Height	5 ft 7.5 in (171 cm)[3]
Position(s)	Half back
Senior career*
Years	Team
	Maidstone United
1907–1908	Croydon Common
1908–1912	Aston Villa
1912–1913	Oldham Athletic
1913–1914	Chelsea
1914–1915	Manchester United
1915–1916	→ Croydon Common (wartime)
1916–1917	→ Southampton (wartime)
1916–1918	→ Brentford (wartime)
1918–1919	→ Birmingham (wartime)
1919	Portsmouth
National team
	The Football League XI
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

George Charles Hunter (2 June 1885 – 1967) was an English professional footballer who played as a half back in the Football League for Aston Villa, Oldham Athletic, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Career

Born in Nowshera, British India, Hunter played for Aston Villa, Oldham Athletic and Chelsea during his early career.[1] In March 1914, he was sold to Manchester United.[2] He captained the club during the 1914–15 season and stayed with United until January 1915, when his contract was cancelled due to a training ground incident.[2] He played for Croydon Common, Southampton, Brentford and Birmingham as a guest player during the First World War and finished his career with Portsmouth of the Southern League during the 1919–20 season.[1][3][4]

Hunter joined the Royal West Kent Regiment of the British Army in December 1903, rising through the ranks to lance corporal by February 1906.[2] He served in Malta, but was found guilty of theft and receiving stolen goods by court-martial in December 1906 and served 140 days hard labour before being discharged in May 1907.[2]

Over a year after the outbreak of the First World War, Hunter enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment in September 1915 and served in the 10th (Reserve) Battalion until June 1916.[2] He was sent to France to join the 9th (Service) Battalion in August 1916, but bouts of dysentery saw him posted back to Britain as a fitness instructor.[2] He was demobbed after the Armistice in November 1918.[2]

After his retirement from football, Hunter worked as a sports writer.[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Croydon Common	1907–08[3]	Southern League Second Division	13	1	1	0	14	1
Aston Villa	1908–09[3]	First Division	15	0	1	0	16	0
	1909–10[3]		32	1	3	0	35	1
	1910–11[3]		33	0	2	0	35	0
	1911–12[3]		11	0	—		11	0
	Total		91	1	6	0	97	1
Oldham Athletic	1911–12[3]	First Division	17	1	2	0	19	1
	1912–13[3]	First Division	23	0	4	0	27	0
	Total		40	1	6	0	46	1
Chelsea	1912–13[3]	First Division	11	1	—		11	1
	1913–14[3]	First Division	19	1	2	0	21	1
	Total		30	2	2	0	32	2
Manchester United	1913–14[3]	First Division	7	0	—		7	0
	1914–15[3]	First Division	15	2	1	0	16	2
	Total		22	2	1	0	23	2
Portsmouth	1919–20[3]	Southern League First Division	8	0	0	0	8	0
Career Total			204	7	16	0	220	7

Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 148. ISBN 978-1905891610.
"George Hunter". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
"George Hunter" (PDF). Croydon Common Football Club. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 363–365. ISBN 0951526200.

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