Chaplin George Image 2 Coventry City 1920

Description

Dundee born full back (he played both sides though perhaps more regularly on the left) George Chaplin began his football career with East Craigie and played for Dundee Arnot in 1905, from where he signed for Dundee in 1906. While with Dundee Chaplin won his only full Scotland international cap playing left back in a 2-1 win over Wales at Dens Park in March 1908. Still only 19 years old, his performance was criticised in a match report which claimed: “Chaplin fell short of requirements at left back.” He moved that summer to First Division club Bradford City making his Football League debut at Chelsea in October 1908 but caught tuberculosis early in 1911, as a result missing the latter stages of the 1911 FA Cup run that saw The Bantams shock Newcastle United and lift the Cup for the only time in their history.

He didn’t return to full fitness for three and a half years but played 20 games in the 1914-15 season before the onset of the First World War forced the suspension of peacetime football, the derby match at Bradford Park Avenue at the end of April 1915 would prove the last of his 97 appearances for The Bantams. On resumption of peacetime football in 1919 he joined Second Division Coventry City initially on the left flank before switching to the right in 1920, being ever present during their 1921-22 campaign, when he played the entire season at right back, and played 113 matches for them over the course of the first four post-war seasons before retiring from football in the summer of 1923.

His brothers Alex (Dundee United and Fulham) and Jack Chaplin (Dundee, Tottenham and Manchester City) were both professional footballers.