George Butcher

George Butcher

Born in St Albans in 1890, George was turning out for his local side in the Spartan League when he was picked up by West Ham in 1910.

A strong and powerful inside forward with a hard shot, as befitting the amateur lightweight boxing champion of Hertfordshire, he spent ten years at Upton Park before losing his place in the Hammers League Division Two side.

Moving to Luton in 1921 for first team football he formed part of the best forward line seen at Kenilworth Road since the club’s formation and enjoyed a successful four years as well as becoming one of few players to be sent off in the inter-war years. His crime was to hit an opposition player who had been constantly kicking him and then goading him to ‘pull his nose’. George retired from the game in 1925 and took over the family firm building Artesian wells before passing away in Berkhamsted in 1970.