George Kitchen

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George Kitchen
Personal information
Full name George William Kitchen
Date of birth April qtr 1876
Place of birth Fairfield, Derbyshire, England
Date of death After 1969[1]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Buxton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1897–1898 Stockport County
1898–1905 Everton 87 (0)
1905–1912 West Ham United 184 (5)
1912–1914 Southampton 37 (0)
1914 Boscombe
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Kitchen (1876 – after 1969) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs in the early part of the twentieth century, including long spells at Everton and West Ham United.

Football career

Born in Fairfield, Derbyshire, Kitchen was an outstanding sportsman and became a professional golfer at the age of 14.[citation needed] He also played cricket and for a time worked as a coach at Dulwich College. He eventually decided to concentrate on football and, after a period with his local club, Buxton, playing in The Combination, he joined Stockport County, then playing in the Lancashire League.

After a year at Stockport, made the move up to

Billy Scott
in the summer of 1904.

After a season spent in

F.A. Cup, scoring six goals.[5]

In October 1912, he was rescued from West Ham's reserves by Southampton's new trainer, Jimmy McIntyre (who acted as "manager" under "secretary" Ernest Arnfield). Described at the time as "having the perfect build for goalkeeping",[6] Kitchen was past his prime by the time he signed for the "Saints", but immediately replaced Bill Knight in goal, making his debut in a 0–0 draw with Coventry City on 26 October 1912. Kitchen's experience soon installed a sense of confidence into a defence that had been struggling, and Saints won five of his first ten games in goal, having only won once in the previous two months.[7]

Kitchen remained first choice 'keeper until

Boscombe in the 1914 close-season.[8]

Later career

Before leaving The Dell, Kitchen had secured a position as golf professional at Bournemouth Golf Course. Following his full retirement from football, he was able to continue to make a living from his second sport.[6]

Honours

Everton

References

  1. Lee Green
    Working Mens Club"
  2. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6
    .
  3. ^ "Everton 2 – Preston North End 0". Everton. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  4. ^ "West Ham United 1 – Swindon Town 0". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  5. ^ "George Kitchen – West Ham career details". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-9514862-3-3
    .
  7. ISBN 0-907969-22-4
    .
  8. ^ Saints – A complete record. pp. 54–55.
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