George Antonio

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George Antonio
Personal information
Full name George Rowlands Antonio[1]
Date of birth (1914-10-20)20 October 1914[1]
Place of birth Whitchurch, Shropshire, England[1]
Date of death 2 July 1997(1997-07-02) (aged 82)[1]
Place of death Oswestry, Shropshire, England[2]
Position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1934 Oswestry Town
1935–1946 Stoke City 84 (13)
1946–1947 Derby County 18 (2)
1948–1949 Doncaster Rovers 34 (7)
1949–1951 Mansfield Town 67 (2)
1951–1952 Oswestry Town
1952–1953 Wellington Town
1953–1954 Stafford Rangers
1954–1955 Oswestry Town
1955 Berriew
Total 203 (24)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Rowlands Antonio (20 October 1914 – 2 July 1997) was an English footballer of Italian descent who played in the Football League for Derby County, Doncaster Rovers, Mansfield Town and Stoke City.[1]

Career[edit]

Antonio was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire, moving to Oswestry with his parents at age three.[3] He started playing in the same county with non-league Oswestry Town before joining Stoke City in 1935.[1] He made his Stoke debut against Liverpool on the final day of the 1935–36 season and established himself in the side the following season.[1] He scored twice in a 10–3 win over West Bromwich Albion, Stoke's record victory. He played quite regularly in the next two seasons sharing positions with Bobby Liddle.[1] In 1938 he was selected by the Wales Football Association for placing as an international for Wales but was dropped when he was discovered to have been born in England.[3]

During World War II, during which he served in the army with the North Staffordshire Regiment,[3] he guested for Nottingham Forest making three appearances in 1939–40 and seven appearances scoring 2 goals in 1940–41.[1] In the 1945–46 season, he guested for Ipswich Town as well as a number of other clubs. He played 16 times for Stoke in 1946–47 season scoring five goals before joining Derby County in March 1947.[1] In the year he was at Derby he played 18 matches and scored twice. He joined Doncaster Rovers for the 1948–49 season appearing 34 times and scoring seven goals, then signed for Mansfield Town from 1949 to 1950 playing 67, scoring twice.[1]

Career statistics[edit]

Source:[4]

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1935–36 First Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
1936–37 First Division 20 3 2 0 22 3
1937–38 First Division 24 1 3 0 27 1
1938–39 First Division 23 4 2 0 25 4
1945–46 7 2 7 2
1946–47 First Division 16 5 0 0 16 5
Total 84 13 14 2 98 15
Derby County 1946–47 First Division 11 1 0 0 11 1
1947–48 First Division 7 1 0 0 7 1
Total 18 2 0 0 18 2
Doncaster Rovers 1948–49 Third Division North 24 3 1 1 25 4
1949–50 Third Division North 10 4 0 0 10 4
Total 34 7 1 1 35 8
Mansfield Town 1949–50 Third Division North 29 1 2 1 31 2
1950–51 Third Division North 38 1 6 0 44 1
Total 67 2 8 1 75 3
Career Total 203 24 23 4 226 28

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Neilson. "VE Day WW2 players as at May 2020" (PDF). pp. 4–5. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Elderwick, David (1989). 50 Shropshire Celebrities Past and Present. IMPRINT, Newtown, Powys. p. 17.He is incorrectly named as 'George Antonio Rowlands' and birth year given as 1915.
  4. ^ George Antonio at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links[edit]

  • George Antonio at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database