Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Victor Martin Watson | ||
Date of birth | 10 November 1897 | ||
Place of birth | Girton, Cambridgeshire, England | ||
Date of death | 3 August 1988 | (aged 90)||
Place of death | Girton, Cambridgeshire, England | ||
Playing position | Centre forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
19??–1920 | Wellingborough Town | ||
1920–1935 | West Ham United[1] | 462 | (298) |
1935–1936 | Southampton | 36 | (14) |
National team | |||
1923–1930 | England | 5 | (4) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
Victor Martin Watson (10 November 1897 Girton, Cambridgeshire – 3 August 1988 Girton, Cambridgeshire) was an English footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United.
Watson, a centre forward, played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and 1936. The club paid just £50 for Vic from Wellingborough, bringing him in to provide cover for Syd Puddefoot.[2]
Vic Watson is the club's record goalscorer with 326 goals, a feat unlikely to be bettered in the modern era. He once scored six, in an 8-2 home win against Leeds on 9 February 1929, scored four goals on three occasions, and managed 13 hat-tricks while at West Ham.
Watson gained two international caps with England in 1923 and a further three caps in 1930, scoring four goals in total, including two against Scotland in the 1930 British Home Championship.
He spent one season (1935-36) with Southampton before retiring and he was the club's top scorer with 14 goals in 36 league appearances.
Upon retiring, he became a market gardener in Girton. He died in August 1988 at the age of 90.
In June 2010 a plaque honoring Watson was unveiled in Girton.
References
- ^ "Vic Watson: West Ham Statistics". http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=673&united=Victor_Watson.
- ^ Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 211. ISBN 1 903135 50 8.
External links
- Victor Watson profile at englandfc.com
- Vic Watson photos
- West Ham statistics
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