Alsop Gilbert Image 2 Walsall 1939

Description

Frampton Cotterill, Gloucestershire born centre forward Gilbert Alsop had started his career with his local team Frampton Cotterill and played for Frampton Court and Latteridge in 1924, moving to Bath City in 1926, before joining Third Division (South) Coventry City in August 1929, where he made his Football League debut against Crystal Palace in March 1930. Initially a winger, he scored 4 goals in 16 appearances over the next two years for Coventry.

He joined Walsall in September 1931 where he would achieve legendary status at the club and moved to centre forward, scoring hat-tricks in successive games against Halifax Town and Accrington Stanley in the spring of 1932 to finish as the club’s highest goalscorer with 15 goals. He repeated the feat the following season with 29 goals and scored the opening goal as Walsall shocked the mighty Arsenal in the FA Cup in January 1933 in what was a massive Cup giant killing. The same month he also scored 4 goals against Mansfield Town.

He was even more prolific in 1933-34 with 40 goals, with four goals against Chester and Hartlepools United and a further hat-trick against Accrington Stanley, followed by 48 goals in 1934-35, when he scored 11 goals in four games at the end of January/beginning of February 1935 with two four goal bursts against Barrow and Carlisle and a hat-trick at Lincoln City, with further hat-tricks against New Brighton and Accrington Stanley. He was also part of the Walsall team that lost the Third Division Cup Final that season to Stockport County.

His four years at Walsall produced a fantastic 137 goals in 179 appearances and earned him a £3,000 move to neighbours West Bromwich Albion in October 1935, but he only played once for The Baggies’ first team, against Huddersfield Town in November 1935, due to the established partnership of WG Richardson and Harry “Popeye” Jones, despite having a goal every other game ratio for their reserves. In May 1937 he left Albion for Ipswich Town in a £2,000 transfer and scored 28 goals in 30 matches in the Southern League in 1937-38, before the club gained Football League status, when he scored twice in 9 League appearances including a goal in their inaugural League fixture in a win over Southend United in August 1938, before returning to Fellows Park for his second spell at Walsall for £1,500 in October 1938.

His total of 29 goals in 34 appearances for The Saddlers that season included 4 goals in an FA Cup tie against Notts County and a burst of 16 goals in 5 games in April 1939 with 4 goals against Torquay United, 2 against Bristol Rovers, hat-tricks at Swindon Town and at home to Bristol City, with a further 4 goals in the return fixture with Swindon Town. But his career was severely interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, after which he returned to Fellows Park playing 10 post war matches up to his retirement at the end of the 1946-47 season having also made 105 wartime appearances for the club (scoring 58 wartime goals), also guesting during the War for Leicester City, Luton Town, Northampton Town and Mansfield Town. He then joined the coaching staff at Walsall staying until May 1949. After a spell playing and as groundsman for local firm FH Lloyd, he returned to Walsall as groundsman in 1952 and remained at Fellows Park for another 20 years. Across both spells with Walsall he scored 170 goals in 226 appearances, his goalscoring record only topped by Tony Richards in the 1960’s.