Syd Gibbons

[neilmumford]

Syd played for Fulham in 1930's over 300 games and is my wifes grandfather who sadly passed away in the early 1950's. I am trying to piece together his history at Fulham and other clubs he played for and have obtained quite a bit of detail if anyone has any information about him or copies of photos of him in action, I would love to hear from you

[Jamie88]

Taken from 'The Men Who Made Fulham Football Club' by Alex White:

"The strong man of Fulham's successful sides of the 1930's, Syd Gibbons' nickname was 'Carnera' - a famous heavyweight boxer of the time. At the start of his career, Syd worked as a foundry hand before signing for Wolves. He moved to Walsall in 1925 but was released and joined Cradley Heath, where he gained an England Junior international cap against Scotland in 1926. Syd was reserve to Sam Cowan at Maine Road until Fulham manager Ned Liddell saw his huge potential and signed him in May 1930 for only £500. This proved a real bargain and his rugged all-action style became greatly admired by the Fulham faithful. Along with Bert Barrett and Len Oliver, he formed a superb half-back line that helped Fulham win the Third Division South title in 1931-32 and also reach the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1936. Gibbons is the only defender in Fulham's history to score a hat-trick. This came in a dramatic comeback against Southampton in November 1934. With Fulham 3-0 down, Gibbons was pushed up to join the attack and he scored three goals in the last 20 minutesto steer Fulham to a 3-3 draw. Gibbons left Fulham to become the player-manager of Worcester City in June 1938. After the war, he ran a tobacconist shop in Putney and scouted for Fulham. Syd was living in Ruislip when he died aged 46."

League appearances (goals): 299 (13)
FA Cup appearances (goals): 19 (2)
London Challenge Cup appearances (goals): 1 (1)

TOTAL appearances (goals): 319 (16)

Clubs history:
(?-1923) - Birmingham Schoolboys
(Jan 1924-Mar 1924) Cradley Heath
(Mar 1924-May 1925) Wolverhampton Wanderers
(May 1925-1926) Walsall
(1926-Apr 1927) Cradley Heath
(Apr 1927-May 1930) Manchester City
(May 1930-Jun 1938) FULHAM
(Jun 1938-?) Worcester City

[Lytton]

I remember Syd from the early fifties as I lived in Atney Road around the corner from his newsagents in Putney Bridge Road.  He was a big man & slightly scary to a little kid like me.  I think that my Dad told me that he had a heart problem which caused him to leave the shop.  We sometimes played street football with his two sons.  We locals played in plimsoles whilst they played in leather shoes/boots with metal studs in the soles.  They took the game seriously and a tackle from one of them was a never to be forgotten experience!  Maybe one of them is your wife's father – if so, tell him I've still got the bruises!

[Wolf]

Pretty sure I've got something from 1935/36 season signed by Syd Gibbons and several others. Also pretty sure there's a least one photo of Syd (and he was a big bloke) in Dennis Turner's book "Fulham Facts and Figures 1879-1998"

[beijing ben]

There are a few pictures featuring Syd in Fulham: A Century Of Memorable Matches by Dennis Turner

In the report of the 3-2 victory against the team we hate the subheading is Gibbons the bulwark... 'a man of elephantine proportions, he showed the footwork of a ballet dancer and no Chelsea man seemed to want to go into a full tackle when he had possession...'

[neilmumford]

Many thanks for the replies, I do have the stats already but the Sam Cowen bit is interesting along with your storey Lytton, thanks for sharing that one with me. The heart condition explains his early death in the early 50's. I thought however he died in Putney and not Ruislip Jamie88?

I do have the Fulham facts and figures and the national newspaper archive and ukpress website have been very interesting sources of information.

If anyone has more information about his England appearance when I contacted the FA they had heard of him but could find no evidence of him  very playing for England Juniors

Any more help is appreciated.