Gordon Astall
English footballer (1927–2020)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | 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
Astall 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
| 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 | ||
- Appearance(s) in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Honours
Plymouth Argyle
Birmingham City
- Football League Second Division: 1954–55
- FA Cup runner-up: 1955–56[15]
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup runner-up: 1958–60
Sources
- 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.
