Vic Watson
English footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Victor Martin Watson (10 November 1897 – 3 August 1988)[1] was an English professional footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United.
|
| |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Victor Martin Watson | ||
| Date of birth | 10 November 1897 | ||
| Place of birth | Girton, Cambridgeshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 3 August 1988 (aged 90) | ||
| Place of death | Girton, Cambridgeshire, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| until 1920 | Wellingborough Town | ||
| 1920–1935 | West Ham United[2] | 462 | (298) |
| 1935–1936 | Southampton | 36 | (14) |
| Total | 498 | (312) | |
| International career | |||
| 1923–1930 | England | 5 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Watson, a centre forward, played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and 1936. The club paid just £50 for Vic Watson from Cambridge Town, bringing him in to provide cover for Syd Puddefoot.[3] ref. Saffron Walden Weekly Newa
Watson is the club's record goalscorer with 326 goals: 298 in the League and 28 in the FA Cup. 203 of his league goals were from 295 top flight appearances.[2] He once scored six, in an 8–2 home win against Leeds on 9 February 1929, scored four goals on three occasions, and managed 13 hat-tricks while at West Ham.[4]
Watson gained two international caps with England in 1923 and a further three caps in 1930, scoring four goals in total, including two against Scotland in the 1930 British Home Championship.
He spent one season (1935–36) with Southampton before retiring and he was the club's top scorer with 14 goals in 36 league appearances.
Upon retiring from professional footballer, he returned to Cambridgeshire He became a market gardener in Girton, Cambridgeshire and trained his former club, Cambridge Town. He also made two further appearances for Cambridge Town, the first being at Ipswich Town in the F.A. Cup on November 14th, 1936. He was also to play in the friendly against Newmarket Town on Christmas Day, 1936 and was to die in August 1988 at the age of 90.[1]
In June 2010 a plaque honouring Watson was unveiled in Girton.[5]
