Bobby Gurney
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| Bobby Gurney | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 October 1907 | |
| Place of birth | Silksworth, County Durham, England | |
| Date of death | 21 April 1994 (aged 86) | |
| Place of death | England | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 19??–1925 1925–1950 |
Bishop Auckland Sunderland |
? (?) 388 (228) |
| National team | ||
| 1935 | England | 1 (0) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1950–1952 1952–1957 1963–1964 |
Peterborough United Darlington Hartlepools United |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Bobby Gurney (13 October 1907 - 21 April 1994) was a football forward who is the highest goal scorer in the history of his only senior club as a player, Sunderland.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Born in Stewart Street, Silksworth, Sunderland, his father Joe was a miner at Silksworth Colliery. His mother, Elizabeth, stayed at home to look after Bobby, his three brothers and one sister. Bobby took up football as a child, playing for his village team. His older brother, Ralph, also played football, as a goalkeeper. All his brothers went into pit jobs after leaving school.
[edit] Sunderland
Bobby was signed to Sunderland in May 1925, after being spotted by Charlie Buchan while playing for top non-league side Bishop Auckland. He made his debut nearly a year later against West Ham United on 3 April 1926, scoring once in a 3–2 defeat. He would play for the next three seasons alongside a striker who hit at least 35 league goals in each of his four full seasons at Roker Park, Dave Halliday, the most prolific goals to games striker in Sunderland's history.[1]
After Halliday's departure Gurney was regularly the club's top goalscorer, garnering his best tally of 33 goals in the 1930–31 season. Among his career highlights were ten hat-tricks and two four-goal hauls. He was also one of just a handful of Sunderland players to score five times in a match.
Bobby went on to make 388 league appearances for Sunderland, scoring 228 goals, which makes him the club's all time top scorer. He won a First Division Championship medal in 1936. He scored in a 3–1 win over Preston North End at Wembley in the 1937 FA Cup Final.
[edit] International
Gurney won one international cap, representing England against Scotland at Hampden Park before 129,693 spectators.
[edit] Management
On retiring from playing he stayed in the game and in 1950 became manager of Midland League side Peterborough United. He was subsequently manager of Darlington, and finally had a short spell as manager of Hartlepools United.
[edit] Honours
[edit] As a player
- First Division runner-up: 1934–35
- First Division Title winner: 1935–36
- FA Charity Shield winner: 1936
- FA Charity Shield runner-up: 1937
- FA Cup winner: 1937
- War Cup runner-up: 1942
[edit] Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Peterborough United | August 1950 | May 1952 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Darlington | May 1952 | October 1957 | 267 | 85 | 123 | 59 | 31.8 | |
| Hartlepools United | April 1963 | January 1964 | 44 | 9 | 25 | 10 | 20.5 | |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ted Drake |
First Division top scorer 1935–36 |
Succeeded by Freddie Steele |
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