Gunson Gordon Image 1 Liverpool 1931

Description

Chester, Cheshire born outside left Gordon Gunson began his football career with Brickfields Athletic and joined Third Division (North) club Nelson as an amateur in May 1924, spending two seasons on their books without making the breakthrough into their first eleven. He returned to his locality in August 1926 when he joined Wrexham, for whom he made his Football League debut against Chesterfield the same month, immediately establishing himself as a core member of the Dragons’ first eleven and playing three seasons at The Racecourse Ground, where he also found the net with increasing frequency. In February 1928 he scored his first hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Barrow, and he was an ever present in 1928-29 as Wrexham finished third in the Third Division (North), Gunson second top scoring in the campaign with 18 goals.

Gunson’s impressive progress for Wrexham soon caught the attention of the top clubs and he was signed by First Division club Sunderland in May 1929 having scored 38 goals in 126 appearances for Wrexham, and at the higher level his form was equally impressive, as he scored 12 goals in 23 appearances during the first three quarters of their 1929-30 campaign before Liverpool signed him for a sizeable fee in March 1930, his debut for The Reds coming almost immediately in a match against Bolton Wanderers on 15th March. Gunson made ten consecutive appearances until the end of the season, rotating between the right and left wing, again deputising for regulars Fred Hopkin and Harold Barton the following season. With Hopkin gone in the 1931-32 season Gunson was one of only two ever presents in the League and scored 19 goals in the campaign, only bettered by Gordon Hodgson. His run of successive appearances increased to 61 by early November 1932 but he then lost his place briefly to Harold Taylor before reclaiming it back for another shorter run.

Gunson struggled because of a troublesome knee injury he had picked up and didn’t play again for Liverpool in 1933-34, joining Swindon Town in June 1934 after 26 goals in 87 appearances for The Reds, and he played a single season at The County Ground, scoring 10 goals in 36 appearances for The Robins. He rr-joined Wrexham in May 1935 and scored 5 more times in 15 appearances before retiring from the professional game in 1936, subsequently joining non league Bangor City in 1938.

NB the photograph was taken immediately before Liverpool’s match against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 17th October 1931, a late Gunson goal sealing a 2-1 Liverpool victory.