George Moorhouse

George Moorhouse

Personal information
Full name	George Moorhouse
Date of birth	(1901-04-04)April 4, 1901
Place of birth	Liverpool,England
Date of death	October 12, 1943(1943-10-12)(aged 42)
Place of death	Long Beach, New York,U.S.
Position(s)	Left Back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1921–1923	Tranmere Rovers	2	(0)
1923	Montreal CPR
1923	Brooklyn Wanderers	3	(0)
1923–1930	New York Giants	203	(32)
1930	→New York Soccer Club	25	(2)
1931	→New York Yankees	14	(6)
1931–1937	New York Americans
International career
1926–1934	United States	7	(0)
Medal record Men'ssoccer RepresentingUnited States FIFA World Cup 1930 Uruguay
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Moorhouse(April 4, 1901– October 12, 1943)was the first native of England to appear in aFIFA World Cup(albeit as a member of the U.S. team rather than for England). He spent most of his playing career in the United States and earned sevencapswith theU.S. national team.He was a member of the U.S. teams at the1930 FIFA World Cupand1934 FIFA World Cup.Moorhouse was inducted into theNational Soccer Hall of Famein 1986.

Club career

A native of England, Moorhouse served in the BritishMerchant Marineduring theFirst World War.After the war, he decided to try his luck in soccer. Predominantly left sided, Moorhouse had an unsuccessful trial withLeeds United.However, he did play two first team matches (December 26, 1921, versusAshingtonand January 28, 1922, versusAccrington Stanley) whilst withTranmere Roversin the oldThird Division Northduring the 1921-22 season. He then played with the Rovers' reserve team in the Cheshire League.

In 1923 he emigrated to Canada, eventually gaining a position with theMontreal Canadian Pacific Railwayteam. He spent only a few months with Montreal before transferring to theBrooklyn Wanderersof theAmerican Soccer League(ASL). He played in only three games before moving toNew York Giantswhere he remained for the next seven seasons, scoring 45 goals in over 250 games.In 1928, the Giants were expelled from the ASL during the "Soccer War" and Moorhouse remained with them during their season and a half in theEastern Professional Soccer League.In 1929, Moorhouse and the Giants returned to the ASL. In the summer of 1930, the Giants were sold to new ownership which renamed the team theNew York Soccer Club.Then in 1931, the team merged with theFall River F.C.to become theNew York Yankeesfor the 1931 spring season. In the fall of 1931, Moorhouse moved to theNew York Americans.In 1933, the first ASL collapsed, to be replaced by a new league, also known as the American Soccer League. The Americans joined the new league and Moorehouse played with them until 1937 leading that side to twoNational Challenge Cuptitles.

National team

Moorhouse earned his first cap in a 6–1 victory overCanadaon November 6, 1926. While he was not called into the team for either of the U.S. games in 1928, he was selected for the U.S. squad at the1930 FIFA World Cup.The Americans accepted the offer fromFIFAto participate in theWorld Cupand Moorhouse would play in all three matches in Uruguay as a defender. The first U.S. game, a 3–0 victory over Belgium on July 13, 1930, atParque CentralinMontevideo,made Moorhouse the first native-born Englishman to play in the World Cup. Moorhouse then played the next two matches as the U.S. went to the semifinals only to fall toArgentinain a particularly physical game. Several U.S. players were injured and the team finished with only eight fit field players and a lame goalkeeper as substitutes were not allowed.

The U.S. did not have any international matches until the1934 FIFA World CupinItaly.Moorhouse was selected as team captain for the cup. Because the U.S. had applied late for entry into the Cup, the team had to play a qualification match againstMexicoin Italy. The U.S. won, 4–2, but was eliminated in the first round byItaly.

He was inducted into theNational Soccer Hall of Famein 1986.

Date of death

While the National Soccer Hall of Fame lists Moorhouse's date of death as July 13, 1982,several other sources have conflicting information. Colin Jose, who has served as a historian with the Hall of Fame, lists the date as October 12, 1943, in his history of the American Soccer League.Finally, Dave Litterer, who writes extensively on U.S. soccer, noted that in 1943, "ASL veterans mourned the passing of George Moorhouse, one of its premier players during the 1930s and a frequent participant with the National team, having earned a cap in every one of its games between 1930 and 1938."

External links

• National Soccer Hall of Fame bio
• Photo of 1930 World Cup squad
• April 1929 newspaper article on Bethlehem Steel-NY Giants gameat theWayback Machine(archived October 28, 2009)