Verdi_Godwin
Verdi Godwin
English footballer
Verdi Godwin BEM (11 February 1926 – 1 December 2013) was an English footballer who played as a forward in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Mansfield Town, Middlesbrough, Grimsby Town, Brentford and Stoke City. After retiring as a player, he worked as a scout.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Verdi Godwin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1926-02-11)11 February 1926[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Blackburn, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 1 December 2013(2013-12-01) (aged 87)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Southport, England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Middlesbrough | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1948 | Blackburn Rovers | 27 | (6) |
| 1948–1949 | Manchester City | 8 | (3) |
| 1949–1950 | Stoke City | 22 | (2) |
| 1950–1951 | Mansfield Town | 31 | (9) |
| 1951–1952 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 1952 | Grimsby Town | 1 | (0) |
| 1953 | Brentford | 7 | (1) |
| 1954–1955 | Southport | 17 | (2) |
| 1955–1956 | Barrow | 15 | (3) |
| 1956–1957 | Tranmere Rovers | 14 | (2) |
| 1958–1959 | Macclesfield Town | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 146 | (28) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Godwin was born in Blackburn and began his career with local club Blackburn Rovers.[1] He scored six league goals in two seasons at Ewood Park and joined Manchester City in June 1948.[4] He scored three goals in eight matches for City before joining Stoke City,[5] whose manager Bob McGrory saw Godwin as the answer to Stoke's goalscoring problem in 1949–50.[1] However, despite scoring on his debut, Godwin scored just once more in the next 20 league matches and by January he was transferred to Third Division Mansfield Town in part-exchange for Harry Oscroft.[1] Following his spell with the Stags, Godwin became a journeyman and spent short spells with Middlesbrough, Grimsby Town, Brentford, Southport, Barrow, Tranmere Rovers and finally Macclesfield.[1][6]
After retiring from football, Godwin worked during the summer for 36 years as a lifeguard on Southport beach.[7] He was awarded the British Empire Medal in recognition of his service.[7]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1946–47[8] | First Division | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 1947–48[8] | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | ||
| Total | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 6 | ||
| Manchester City | 1948–49[5] | First Division | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Stoke City | 1949–50[8] | First Division | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| Mansfield Town | 1949–50[8] | Third Division North | 17 | 7 | — | 17 | 7 | |
| 1950–51[8] | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | ||
| Total | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 9 | ||
| Grimsby Town | 1951–52[8] | Third Division North | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brentford | 1951–52[9] | Second Division | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 1952–53[9] | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1953–54[9] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Southport | 1954–55[10] | Third Division North | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| Barrow | 1955–56[8] | Third Division North | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 4 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1955–56[8] | Third Division North | 14 | 2 | — | 14 | 2 | |
| Macclesfield | 1958–59[6] | Cheshire County League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career Total | 145 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 148 | 29 | ||
- Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
- "R.I.P Verdi Godwin (Southport)". OTSNews. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- "Player Details". SFC FPA. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "Verdi Godwin". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- "Verdi Godwin – Manchester City Player Statistics". StatCity. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- "Season Statistics – Cheshire League – 1958–59". www.silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- Brentford Football Club Official Programme versus Brighton & Hove Albion. 10 February 2007. p. 39.
- Verdi Godwin at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 381–382. ISBN 0951526200.
- "Player Details". Port Online. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- Verdi Godwin at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database