George Francis (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Edward Francis[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 February 1934 | ||
| Place of birth | Acton, England | ||
| Date of death | 22 October 2014 (aged 80)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Slough, England | ||
| Position(s) |
Centre forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1949–1955 | Brentford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1961 | Brentford | 228 | (110) |
| 1961 | Queens Park Rangers | 2 | (1) |
| 1961–1962 | Brentford | 32 | (14) |
| 1962–1964 | Gillingham | 51 | (19) |
| 1964–1965 | Hastings United | ||
| Hillingdon Borough | |||
| Stevenage Town | |||
| Total | 398 | (144) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
George Edward Francis (4 February 1934 – 22 October 2014) was an English professional
strike partnership saw the pair dubbed 'The Terrible Twins'.[2]
Career
Early years
A
centre forward, Francis began his career as a schoolboy with a team fielded by the Odeon cinema in his hometown of Acton.[3] He regularly played against Jim Towers of the local Gaumont cinema team and the pair would later link up as professionals at Brentford.[3] Francis later represented the Acton, Brentford & Chiswick schools' team.[3]
Brentford
Francis signed for the junior team at
strike partnership with friend Jim Towers.[3][6] He made his full breakthrough in the 1956–57 season and scored 24 goals in 44 appearances.[6]
Francis' best season came in
maximum wage rule saw Francis and Towers depart the Bees.[3] Francis scored 121 goals in 243 appearances over the course of six years in the first team at Griffin Park.[3]
Queens Park Rangers
Francis and Towers joined Third Division club Queens Park Rangers in an £8,000 deal in May 1961.[1][3] Francis failed to last long at Loftus Road and scored three goals in as many appearances before departing in October 1961.[3][7][8]
Return to Brentford
Francis returned to Brentford in October 1961 and immediately won his place back in the team, though his 14 league goals couldn't prevent the Bees from suffering relegation to
Hall of Fame in March 2014.[2]
Gillingham
Francis signed for Fourth Division club
1963–64 season and scored the winner versus Newport County on the final day,[10] which saw Gillingham clinch the Fourth Division championship.[3] He departed the club at the end of the campaign,[3] having scored 21 goals in 58 games for the Gills.[12]
Non-League football
After his departure from Gillingham, Francis dropped into non-League football and closed out his career with spells at Southern League clubs Hastings United, Hillingdon Borough and Stevenage Town.[3][13]
Personal life
Francis undertook his
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1954–55[6] | Third Division South | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 2 | |
| 1955–56[6] | Third Division South | 17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | 18 | 8 | ||
| 1956–57[6] | Third Division South | 41 | 23 | 3 | 1 | — | 44 | 24 | ||
| 1957–58[6] | Third Division South | 45 | 22 | 1 | 0 | — | 46 | 22 | ||
| 1958–59[6] | Third Division | 45 | 22 | 4 | 2 | — | 49 | 24 | ||
| 1959–60[6] | Third Division | 46 | 26 | 2 | 5 | — | 48 | 31 | ||
| 1960–61[6] | Third Division | 31 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 10 | |
| Total | 228 | 110 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 243 | 121 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1961–62[7]
|
Third Division | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |
| Brentford | 1961–62[6] | Third Division | 32 | 14 | 5 | 1 | — | 37 | 15 | |
| Total | 260 | 124 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 280 | 136 | ||
| Gillingham | 1962–63[10]
|
Fourth Division | 35 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 13 |
1963–64[10]
|
Fourth Division | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 8 | |
| Total | 51 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 58 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 311 | 143 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 338 | 159 | ||
Honours
Gillingham
Individual
References
- ^ a b c "George Francis". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ a b c Wickham, Chris. "George Francis Added To Hall Of Fame". brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0955294914.
- ^ Brentford Matchday Magazine versus Watford. Quay Design of Poole. 24 January 1998. p. 25.
- ^ a b c d Chapman, Mark. "A genuine Brentford legend: George Francis". brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0951526200.
- ^ a b "Seasonal Stats – 1961–62". QPRnet. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ White 1989, p. 243.
- ^ @BrentfordFC (6 September 2022). "Games to reach 50 goals 49 – Jack Holliday 57 – Dave McCulloch 59 – Billy Lane 90 – George Francis 96 – @ivantoney24 Ivan is the 5th fastest player in our history to the 50 goal mark #BrentfordFC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d e "Gillingham FC Career Details – George Francis". Gillingham FC Scrapbook. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ a b Gillingham F.C. at the Football Club History Database
- ^ Day, Richard. "On This Day..." www.gillinghamfootballclub.com. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ White 1989, p. 246.
- ^ a b "Brentford legend George Francis dies aged 80". Retrieved 21 February 2019.