Doug McGibbon
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Douglas McGibbon | ||
| Date of birth | 24 February 1919 | ||
| Place of birth | Netley, England | ||
| Date of death | 25 October 2002 (aged 83) | ||
| Place of death | Aylesbury, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) |
Centre forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Air Service Training (Hamble) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1938–1947 | Southampton | 13 | (9) |
| 1947–1948 | Fulham | 42 | (18) |
| 1948–1951 |
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 103 | (65) |
| 1951–???? |
Lovells Athletic | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Douglas McGibbon (24 February 1919 – 25 October 2002) was an English
Football career
Southampton
McGibbon was born in Netley, Hampshire, the son of Charlie McGibbon (1880–1954),[2] who was a centre forward for several clubs, including Southampton, in the 1900s. At the time Doug was born, his father had retired and was employed as the Chief Clerk in the Statistical Office at Netley Hospital.[3]
Doug McGibbon played his youth football with the Air Service Training at
McGibbon remained in Southampton at the start of the Second World War, making 16 appearances (scoring 7 goals) in the wartime leagues in 1939–40 before he moved to Swindon to work as an aircraft mechanic as part of the war effort. While at Swindon, he played for Swindon Railway in 1944[2] and then for Swindon Town in the 1945–46 season where he made five appearances, scoring three goals. Swindon Town approached Southampton with a view to signing him on a full-time basis, but the Saints board refused and McGibbon returned to Southampton.[2]
During the 1945–46 season, Southampton played in the League South pending the resumption of League football following the end of the war. During the league season, McGibbon made 30 appearances scoring 27 goals, including six in a 7–0 victory over Chelsea on 29 December 1945. In this match, McGibbon scored his third goal within five seconds of the kick-off for the second half. McGibbon kicked off to Ted Bates, who passed the ball wide to Bill Stroud, who immediately hit a long ball into the path of McGibbon, who had sprinted upfield. McGibbon hit a firm volley into the back of the net without a Chelsea player having touched the ball. The referee timed the goal at 4.6 seconds from the kick-off – this remains the fastest goal ever scored by a Southampton player from a kick-off,[1] although the Dell pitch had been shortened slightly due to bomb damage at the Milton Road end.[3] In total, including FA Cup matches, McGibbon scored 29 goals from 34 appearances in 1945–46,[5] although his form did tail off towards the end of the season.[6]
McGibbon made his home League debut in the opening match of
Fulham
McGibbon scored a hat-trick against
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
At Bournemouth, playing in the Football League Third Division South, McGibbon again found his goal-scoring form and in each of his three seasons at Dean Court was the club's top scorer, with goal tallies of 30, 18 and 17 respectively.
Later career
In the summer of 1951, McGibbon dropped out of League football, moving to
After a spell in hospital, he returned to Hamble to work as an aircraft engineer and then as a sports officer. He later moved to
On his retirement, he initially settled in Isleworth before spending the last few years of his life in an Aylesbury care home, where he died in October 2002.[2]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-9534474-1-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
- ^ ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
- ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
- ^ Saints – A complete record. pp. 108–109.
- ^ In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 2.
- ^ Saints – A complete record. pp. 110–111.
- ISBN 0-907574-08-4.