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Players Index Page Last Updated
21 August 2021
 
 

George Male

Arsenal FC

19 appearances, 0 goals

P 19 W 11 D 2 L 6 F 50: A 24
63% successful

1934-39

captain: six
minutes played:
1710

Timeline

  Charles George Male
Birth 8 May 1910 at 29 Walton Road, Plaistow, West Ham, Essex [registered as Charles George in West Ham, June 1910].
 

According to the 1911 census, George is the second of two sons to Charles John and Maria Maud (née) Dowman and living at 29 Walton Road in Plaistow. His father is a printer.

Marriage to Annie Aked, 4 June 1932 in Mirfield, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire [registered as Charles G. in Dewsbury, June 1932]. Annie was born on 4 June 1909, she married on he 23rd birthday. They had one son, Michael
  According to the 1939 register, Charles G., a professional footballer and physical training instructor, is married to Annie, an 'unpaid domestic'. They live at 154 Central Park Road in East Ham.
 

George and Annie are living at 27 South Lodge Drive in Southgate, Enfield, according to the 1952/62-65 Electoral Rolls.

Death 19 February 1998 in Ontario, Canada, aged 87 years 287 days [not registered in England].

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & Ancestry.com

Playing Career


Club(s)
Played schoolboy football in West Ham and after failing a trial with his local club, West Ham United FC, he turned up on non-league Clapton FC's books as an amateur centre-half.
"Clapton gained an unexpected but welcome runaway win over Wycombe Wanderers by 7-1. C. G. Male, te tall young centre-half, tried as an experiment at centre-forward, distinguished himself by scoring six goals. There was a sensational start, Ahl beating Kipling from a corner kick by Baker to give Clapton that lead in the first minute. Cubbage netted for Wycombe" - 21 March 1930, The Essex Chronicle
Male signed for Arsenal FC, also on amateur forms on 25 November 1929, playing for both clubs until he turned professional in May 1930. Played in 285 league matches before retiring in the 1948 close season. He played another 200 matches for Arsenal during the war.
Club honours FA Cup runners-up 1931-32, winners 1935-36;
Football League Champions 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1937-38;
Individual honours Football League (two appearances)
Distinctions Brother of Leslie Victor (Essex, The Army and FA)
Fifth cousin (twice removed) of Benjamin Oswald Male, Wales RFU Captain
Height/Weight 5' 11½", 12st. 2lbs [1935], 6' 0", 12st. 2lbs [1937].

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & David Male.

England Career

Player number One of two who became 606th players (606) to appear for England.
Position(s) Right-back
First match No. 195, 14 November 1934, England 3 Italy 2, a friendly match at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London, aged 24 years 190 days.
Last match No. 226, 24 May 1939, Romania 0 England 2, an end-of-season tour match at Stadionul Agenţia Naţională de Educaţie Fizică, Bucureşti, aged 29 years 16 days.
Major tournaments British Championship 1934-35, 1935-36, 1936-37;
Team honours British Championship shared 1934-35;
Individual honours None
Distinctions None

Beyond England

Was coaching the Norsemen FC of Edmonton from 1937. After retiring from playing, Male continued to coach the Arsenal players before becoming the club's chief scout until 1975. Before taking up football, he was a bank messenger/clerk. He later emigrated to Canada. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.166/7.

 

The Numbers
parties Apps comp. apps minutes goals ave.min comp. goals captain
15 19 7 1710 0 0 min 0 six
minutes are an approximation, due to the fact that many matches rarely stick to exactly ninety minutes long, allowing time for injuries and errors.
P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
19 11 2 6 50 24 +26 1 6 2.632 1.263 63.2 +5

Venue Record

Venue P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
Home 7 5 1 1 19 9 +10 0 1 2.714 1.286 78.6 +4
Away 12 6 1 5 31 15 +16 1 5 2.583 1.25 54.2 +1

Shirt Record

Colour P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
White 18 10 2 6 47 24 +23 1 5 2.611 1.333 61.2 +4
Blue 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 0 1 3.00 0.00 100.0 +1

Competition Record

Competition P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
British Championship 7 3 1 3 11 11 =0 1 0 1.571 1.571 50.0 =0
Friendly 12 8 1 3 39 13 +26 0 6 3.25 1.083 70.8 +5

Tournament Record

British Championship Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 1934-35 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 1 0 1.00 1.50 50.0 =0
BC 1935-36 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 0 0 1.667 1.333 50.0 =0
BC 1936-37 2 1 0 1 4 4 =0 0 0 2.00 2.00 50.0 =0
BC All 7 3 1 3 11 11 =0 1 0 1.571 1.571 50.0 =0

All Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 7 3 1 3 11 11 =0 1 0 1.571 1.571 50.0 =0
7 3 1 3 11 11 =0 1 0 1.571 1.571 50.0 =0

Match History

 Club: Arsenal F.C. - nineteen full appearances (1710 min)

F.A. International Selection Committee - nineteen full appearances (1710 min)x


Age 24
1 195 14 November 1934 - England 3 Italy 2
Arsenal Stadium, Highbury
Fr HW   rb
2 196 6 February 1935 - England 2 Ireland 1
Goodison Park, Liverpool
BC HW   rb
3 197 6 April 1935 - Scotland 2 England 0
Hampden Park, Glasgow
BC AL   rb

Age 25
4 198 18 May 1935 - Netherlands 0 England 1
Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam
Fr AW   rb
5 199 19 October 1935 - Ireland 1 England 3
Windsor Park, Belfast
BC AW   rb
6 200 4 December 1935 - England 3 Germany 0
White Hart Lane, Tottenham
Fr HW   rb
7 201 5 February 1936 - England 1 Wales 2,
Molineux, Wolverhampton
BC HL   rb
8 202 4 April 1936 - England 1 Scotland 1
Empire Stadium, Wembley
BC HD   rb
9 203 6 May 1936 - Austria 2 England 1
Praterstadion, Wien
tour AL   rb

Age 26
10 204 9 May 1936 - Belgium 3 England 2, Stade du Centenaire, Bruxelles tour AL   rb
  
11 206 18 November 1936 - England 3 Ireland 1
Victoria Ground, Stoke-upon-Trent
BC HW captain rb
12 207 2 December 1936 - England 6 Hungary 2
Arsenal Stadium, Highbury
Fr HW captain rb

Age 27
13 208 17 April 1937 - Scotland 3 England 1
Hampden Park, Glasgow
BC AL captain rb
14 209 14 May 1937 - Norway 0 England 6
Ullevål Stadion, Oslo

tour
AW captain 2
rb
15 210 17 May 1937 - Sweden 0 England 4
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna
AW captain 2
rb
16 211 20 May 1937 - Finland 0 England 8
Töölön pallokenttä, Helsinki
AW captain 2
rb
  

Age 29
17 224 13 May 1939 - Italy 2 England 2
Stadio Civico San Siro, Milano

tour
AD   2
rb
18 225 18 May 1939 - Yugoslavia 2 England 1
Stadion Beogradski SK, Beograd
AL   2
rb
19 226 24 May 1939 - Romania 0 England 2
Stadionul ANEF, Bucureşti
AW   2
rb
  

Notes

By common consent in the 1930s, George Male was the best right- back in England, some said the finest in the world, and to the majority of British football fans in an era before the expertise of overseas players had impinged on the national consciousness, it amounted to the same thing anyway.  The last surviving regular member of Arsenal's imperious pre-war team, which lifted four League titles and the FA Cup in the space of six seasons, he captained both club and country and was renowned for his sportsmanship and modesty, even in an era when such qualities were not in short supply.

Male's name will be linked forever to that of Eddie Hapgood, his full- back partner at Highbury and another man to skipper the Gunners and England. Like so many famous sporting pairs, they offered a sharp contrast both in character and in the way they went about their business. Where Male was unassuming and calm, favouring a simple, solid, archetypally hard but fair style of play, the more ambitious Hapgood was a volatile extrovert, all elegant poise and smooth technique. They complemented each other ideally.  George Male was born in West Ham and represented the Hammers at schoolboy level before taking a job in insurance and playing his football for a local amateur team, Clapton of the Isthmian League. However, his potential was spotted by Arsenal and he signed amateur forms for the north Londoners in November 1929, turning professional six months later.

His progress was rapid and in December 1930 he made his senior debut, at left half, in a swinging 7-1 home victory over Blackpool. That season was to end with the Gunners winning the League Championship for the first time in their history, and although Male made insufficient appearances to qualify for a medal, he was soon to make up for it with a vengeance.  First, though, would come disappointment when an injury-induced team reshuffle secured him a place at Wembley for the 1932 FA Cup Final, only for Newcastle United to triumph thanks to a famously controversial goal.

Next came a crucial crossroads in the Male career. Hitherto the solidly- built Eastender had been a competent but hardly outstanding wing-half, a fact recognised by his manger, the inspirational but often intimidating Herbert Chapman. At the outset of the 1932/33 campaign, Arsenal had a problem at right back and the great man summoned Male to his presence, announcing portentously: "George, you are going to be a right-back". Then, without awaiting a reply, he proceeded to work on the modest 22-year-old's self-esteem.  Many years later Male recalled: "By the time I got out of that room, I wasn't merely convinced that I was a full-blown right-back, I knew without doubt that I was the best right-back in the country!" It was a typical example of Chapman's mesmeric power over his players, illustrating a key constituent in the benevolently despotic personality of one of the most successful soccer bosses the game has known. In this case, Chapman's wisdom in decreeing a change of position was evident immediately. Male settled into his new role as if born to it and within a few months had been called up for an international trial.

Come 1933/34, arguably the finest English club side of the first half of the 20th century was approaching its prime. That term Male didn't miss a match as Arsenal, employing the then-innovative "stopper" defensive method and with bounteously gifted forwards such as Alex James and Cliff Bastin a joy to behold, won the first of three successive titles. In 1936, they lifted the FA Cup, with Male performing majestically in the 1-0 final victory over Sheffield United, and two years later took yet another championship.  On the international front, Male had received his first cap in 1934, one of seven Gunners involved in the so-called "Battle of Highbury", in which England defeated the World Cup holders Italy by three goals to two. The match was for the unofficial championship of the world because, at that time, England didn't deign to enter the tournament, instead allowing the foreigners to fight it out amongst themselves before challenging the winners. In the event it was a brutally physical affair and a supremely trying baptism for Male, but one from which he emerged with credit for his characteristic coolness under extreme provocation.

Thereafter he played a further 18 times for his country, including a spell as captain towards the end of the decade, and but for the Second World War, which began when Male was 29 and at his peak, it is likely that his appearances total would have been considerably higher.  After the conflict, during which he served with the RAF in Palestine, Male returned to first-team duty and although he managed only intermittent outings, having reached a grand old age in footballing terms, his eight games in 1947/48 made him the first man to figure in six title-winning campaigns. When he finished, in a 8-0 trouncing of Grimsby Town that May, he had represented the Gunners in 314 senior matches (without scoring a goal), in addition to 181 games for the club in wartime competition.

Reaching the end of his playing career did not signal Male's departure from Highbury, however. He became a coach, guiding first the juniors and then the reserves, a firm but kindly and avuncular figure who rejoiced in the affection of his young charges. After that he earned further respect as a shrewd talent-spotter - the 1970s star Charlie George was his best- known discovery - and he went on to serve Arsenal in various administrative roles. He retired in 1975, living in Yorkshire, then joining his son in Canada. The last of Chapman's magnificent side to stop playing, and the last to die, George Male was never the most feted of Gunners, but he was one of the worthiest. - The Independent Obituary

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CG