George Yardley (footballer)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George McArthur Yardley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 October 1941 | ||
| Place of birth | Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 14 November 2018 (aged 76)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Dalgety Bay, Fife, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Youth career | |||
| Abbotshall Boy's Brigade | |||
| Novar Star Youth | |||
| Frances Colliery Juniors | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959–1964 | East Fife | 62 | (17) |
| 1964 | Forfar Athletic | 4 | (0) |
| 1965 | St. George-Budapest | ||
| 1966 | Luton Town | 1 | (0) |
| 1966–1969 | Tranmere Rovers | 76 | (49) |
| 1969 | St. George-Budapest | ||
| 1969–1970 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | (19) |
| St. George-Budapest | |||
| 1973–1974 | Altrincham | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
George McArthur Yardley (8 October 1942 – 14 November 2018) was a Scottish footballer. Yardley began his career as a goalkeeper before becoming a centre forward, most notably for Tranmere Rovers.
International career
Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Yardley played his first football as a goalkeeper as an eight-year-old playing for Dunnikier Primary School. However, on moving to Temple Hall Secondary School he was forced to play as a forward because another goalkeeper was already playing.[4] At Frances Colliery Juniors he played mostly as a forward, occasionally playing in goal.[4]
In 1959 he signed an amateur contract with East Fife as a goalkeeper. After sustaining a hand injury in 1960 Yardley switched to primarily playing as a forward though he did play a number of matches in goal.[4][5] In 1964 Yardley trialled with Forfar Athletic, playing four matches. He then played out the second half of the 1963/1964 season with Montrose.[4]
Yardley played for Australian club St. George-Budapest in three separate stints. He played one season at St. George during the 1965 Australian season after emigrating to Australia in August 1964.[6][7]
On returning from Australia in October 1966, Yardley trialled for a month with English Fourth Division team Luton Town, playing one match.[4][8] In November 1966 he moved to Tranmere Rovers. In four seasons between 1966 and 1970 he played 123 matches, scoring 68 goals.[9] He was leading goal scorer for Rovers on four separate occasions.[4][6][7][10]
His second stint in Australia was in 1969 before returning to Tranmere Rovers.[6] At the completion of his career at Tranmere he moved again to Australia.[7] Yardley had a short stint with Altrincham in the 1973–74 season.[5]
Yardley played one match on 5 March 1960 for Scotland Amateurs against Wales at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock, which ended 3-3.[4][11]