 Mural of Bobby Gurney in Silksworth | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 October 1907 | ||
| Place of birth | Silksworth, County Durham, England | ||
| Date of death | 14 April 1994 (aged 86) | ||
| Place of death | England | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 19??–1925 | Bishop Auckland | ||
| 1925–1950 | Sunderland | 348[1] | (205[1]) |
| International career | |||
| 1935 | England | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1950–1952 | Peterborough United | ||
| 1952–1957 | Darlington | ||
| 1963–1964 | Hartlepools United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bobby Gurney (13 October 1907 – 14 April 1994)[2] was an English footballer who played as a forward. He is the highest goal scorer in the history of Sunderland.
Early years[edit]
Born in Stewart Street, Silksworth, Sunderland, his father Joe was a miner at Silksworth Colliery. His mother, Elizabeth, stayed at home to look after Bobby, his three brothers and one sister. Bobby took up football as a child, playing for his village team. His older brother, Ralph, also played football, as a goalkeeper. All his brothers went into pit jobs after leaving school.
Club career[edit]
Bobby was signed to Sunderland in May 1925, after being spotted by Charlie Buchan while playing for top non-league side Bishop Auckland. He made his debut nearly a year later against West Ham United on 3 April 1926, scoring once in a 3–2 defeat. He would play for the next three seasons alongside a striker who hit at least 35 league goals in each of his four full seasons at Roker Park, Dave Halliday, the most prolific goals to games striker in Sunderland's history.[3]
After Halliday's departure Gurney was regularly the club's top goalscorer, garnering his best tally of 33 goals in the 1930–31 season. Among his career highlights were ten hat-tricks and two four-goal hauls. He was also one of just a handful of Sunderland players to score five times in a match.
Bobby went on to make 388 league appearances for Sunderland, scoring 228 goals, which makes him the club's all-time top scorer. He won a First Division Championship medal in 1936. He scored in a 3–1 win over Preston North End at Wembley in the 1937 FA Cup Final.
International career[edit]
Gurney won one international cap, representing England against Scotland at Hampden Park before 129,693 spectators.
Managerial career[edit]
On retiring from playing he stayed in the game and in 1950 became manager of Midland League side Peterborough United. He was subsequently manager of Darlington, and finally had a short spell as manager of Hartlepool United.
Managerial statistics[edit]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Peterborough United | England | August 1950 | May 1952 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Darlington | England | May 1952 | October 1957 | 267 | 85 | 123 | 59 | 31.8 |
| Hartlepools United | England | April 1963 | January 1964 | 44 | 9 | 25 | 10 | 20.5 |
Honours[edit]
Sunderland
- Football League First Division: 1935–36
- FA Cup: 1936–37
- FA Charity Shield: 1936; runner-up: 1937
- War Cup runner-up: 1941–42
Individual
- Football League First Division top scorer: 1935–36
- Sunderland top scorer: 228 goals
References[edit]
- ^ a b Bobby Gurney, The Stat Cat
- ^ Dykes, Garth & Lamming, Doug (2000). All The Lads: A Complete Who's Who of Sunderand AFC. Sunderland AFC. p. 170. ISBN 1-899538-15-1.
- ^ Dave Halliday profile on "Queens Legends" on the official Queen of the South FC website Archived 26 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine