George Mills (footballer)

Football player infobox
playername= George Mills


fullname = George Robert Mills
nickname =
dateofbirth = 29 December 1908
cityofbirth = Deptford
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath = 15 July 1970
cityofdeath = Torquay
countryofdeath = England
height =
currentclub =
position = Striker
clubnumber =
years = 1929-1943
youthyears =
youthclubs = Bromley
clubs = Chelsea| caps(goals) = 220 (116)
nationalyears = 1937
nationalteam =England
nationalcaps(goals) = 3 (3)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

George Robert Mills (born 29 December 1908 in Deptford, died 15 July 1970) was an English footballer, principally for Chelsea.

He signed for Chelsea as an amateur in 1929 from Bromley and stayed at the club for the rest of his career. He was a prolific goal scorer in his time there, notching 123 goals in 239 games. Despite often being overlooked by more glamorous, but less reliable, forwards such as Hughie Gallacher and Joe Bambrick, he remained loyal to the club.

In his debut season, Mills scored 14 goals in 20 games for Chelsea, helping them achieve promotion to the First Division. His best season was in 1936-37, when he scored 22 goals in 32 appearances, which earned him an England call-up. He won three international caps for England and scored three goals, all of which came in a 5-1 win against Northern Ireland on 23 October 1937. [cite web| url= http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=212 |title = Northern Ireland 1 - England 5; 23 October 1937 (Match summary) |publisher=www.englandstats.com |accessdate=17 September|accessyear = 2008]

Mills was the first Chelsea player to score over 100 league goals, a feat only five others have since matched, and is currently the club's 6th highest all-time goalscorer. He is also the last Chelsea player to have scored a hat-trick against Liverpool, which came in a 6-1 win in August 1937. Upon retiring he became a coach at Chelsea. [cite book | author=Glanvill, Rick | title=Chelsea FC: The Official Biography - The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years| publisher=Headline Book Publishing Ltd| year=2006| id=ISBN 0-7553-1466-2]

He later worked in the City of London for a printing company. [cite book | author=Graham Betts| title=England: Player by player | publisher=Green Umbrella Publishing | year=2006|pages=p.172| isbn=1-905009-63-1] He died while on holiday in Torquay in 1970.

References