Gordon Astall (22 September 1927 – 21 October 2020) was an English professional footballer. He played as an outside right, and represented the Football League, the England B team and the full England side. At club level he made 456 appearances in the Football League and scored 112 goals.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gordon Astall[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 22 September 1927[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Horwich, England | ||
| Date of death | 21 October 2020 (aged 93) | ||
| Place of death | Ipplepen, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Outside right | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Royal Marines | |||
| Southampton | |||
| Bolton Wanderers (trial) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1947–1953 | Plymouth Argyle | 188 | (42) |
| 1953–1961 | Birmingham City | 235 | (60) |
| 1961–1963 | Torquay United | 33 | (10) |
| Total | 456 | (112) | |
| International career | |||
| 1952 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 1956 | England | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Life and career
editAstall was born in Horwich, near Bolton, in Lancashire.[1] He was playing amateur football for Southampton when he signed professional with Plymouth Argyle in November 1947.[3] He had previously been an unsuccessful triallist at his local side Bolton Wanderers.[2] His league debut came in February 1948 at home to Luton Town, and he soon became a regular in the Home Park side, helping Plymouth win the Third Division South title in 1952.[3] Due to his speed down the wing the crowd christened him Flash Astall.[4] That same year he was selected for the England B team.[5] In October 1953 he was signed by Second Division rivals Birmingham City for a fee of £14,000, following his Plymouth wing colleague Alex Govan to St Andrew's. He had made 194 appearances for Plymouth and scored 43 goals.[3][6]
As a goalscoring outside right, Astall replaced the Scot Jackie Stewart in the Birmingham side and quickly became an important member of a team that won the Second Division title in 1955 and reached the 1956 FA Cup final, losing 3–1 at Wembley to Manchester City.[7] Full international recognition followed and he scored on his debut for England against Finland on 20 May 1956. He played again six days later in a 3–1 victory against West Germany, but this proved to be his final international appearance.[2] He also took part in Birmingham's Inter-Cities Fairs Cup campaigns, playing in the 1960 final which the team lost 4–1 on aggregate to Barcelona.[8] At the end of the 1960–61 season, after 271 appearances for Birmingham in which he scored 67 goals, he moved to Torquay United on a free transfer.[2]
Astall made his Gulls debut on 19 August 1961, featuring in a 2–1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, and went on to score 10 goals in 27 league games in a season that saw Torquay relegated back to the Fourth Division thanks to a 4–2 final-day defeat away to Barnsley, Astall scoring one of Torquay's goals.[9] He played only six times the following season before retiring from the professional game.[6]
Astall settled in the Torbay area, working in insurance and coaching local club Upton Vale.[6] In May 2000, the Torquay Herald Express reported that he was living in retirement in the town and was a keen golfer.[10]
In later life, Astall was diagnosed with dementia.[11] He died at a care home at Ipplepen, Devon, on 21 October 2020 at the age of 93.[2] He was at the time the oldest living England international.[12]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Plymouth Argyle[3] | 1947–48 | Second Division | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| 1948–49 | Second Division | 36 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 5 | |||
| 1949–50 | Second Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1950–51 | Third Division South | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 7 | |||
| 1951–52 | Third Division South | 45 | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 18 | |||
| 1952–53 | Third Division South | 39 | 10 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 11 | |||
| 1953–54 | Third Division South | 13 | 1 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 188 | 42 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 194 | 43 | ||||
| Birmingham City[13] | 1953–54 | Second Division | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 6 | ||
| 1954–55 | Second Division | 33 | 11 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 11 | |||
| 1955–56 | First Division | 39 | 12 | 6 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 45 | 15 | ||
| 1956–57 | First Division | 40 | 11 | 6 | 2 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 47 | 13 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | 41 | 5 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 26 | 8 | 5 | 1 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 32 | 9 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 22 | 4 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 1 | 21 | 4 | |
| Total | 235 | 60 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 271 | 67 | ||
| Torquay United[14] | 1961–62 | Third Division | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 10 | |
| 1962–63 | Fourth Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 33 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 456 | 112 | 33 | 87 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 498 | 120 | ||
Honours
editPlymouth Argyle
Birmingham City
- Second Division: 1954–55
- FA Cup finalist: 1955–56
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup finalist: 1958–60
Sources
edit- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-010-2.
- Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: Derby Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Gordon Astall". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Gordon Astall". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 8 August 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Alex Govan". Greens on Screen. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Cole, Daniel (22 October 2020). "Gordon Astall R.I.P". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Courtney, Barrie (22 May 2014). "England – International Results B-Team – Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Matthews (1995), p. 69.
- ^ Matthews (2010), pp. 342–347.
- ^ Ross, James M. (4 June 2015). "European Competitions 1959–60". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Edwards, Leigh (March 1997). The definitive Torquay United F.C. Nottingham: Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-09-9.
- ^ "In an age when pampered soccer players earn £50,000 a week, and sometimes have to be treated for stress with the worry of it all, it is salutary to look back on some of the giants of the past and their rewards". Herald Express. Torquay. 23 May 2000. p. 8.
- ^ "Football Remembers: Gordon Astall's story". Premier League. 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "England's Gordon Astall, who was our oldest international, has sadly passed away". The Football Association. 22 October 2020. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Matthews (2010), pp. 342–359, 473.
- ^ "Astall, G (Gordon)". English National Football Archive (ENFA). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
External links
edit- Gordon Astall at Englandstats.com
- Gordon Astall at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
