George Gaffikin
Personal information
Full name George John Gaffikin
Date of birth (1868-05-17)17 May 1868
Place of birth Belfast, Ireland
Date of death (1935-12-31)31 December 1935
Place of death Belfast, Ireland[1]
Position(s) Inside right
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1886-1898 Linfield 181 (103)
International career
1890-1895 Ireland Amateurs 15 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Gaffikin (17 May 1868 – 31 December 1935) was an Irish footballer who played as an inside right.[2][3]

Club career

Gaffikin was a founder member of Linfield, playing in their first ever game, a friendly game against Lisburn Distillery on 11 September 1886.,[2] and would go on to make 181 appearances in his twelve years with the club, scoring 103 goals.[3] Gaffikin was part of the Linfield team which won the club's first trophy, the Irish Cup in March 1891, scoring in a 4-2 victory over Ulster, with Linfield also going on to win a domestic double the same season, a feat they would repeat for the following three seasons, and again in 1895, with Gaffikin scoring in the 10-1 Irish Cup win against Bohemians. Gaffikin would also score twice in the final of the Belfast Charity Cup in May 1891, with Linfield defeating Ulster 7-1.[3] They would go on to win this competition for the next four seasons.[4]

International career

Gaffikin made his debut for Ireland during the 1890-91 British Home Championship in a 2-5 defeat to Wales. He would go on to make 15 international appearances, scoring against Wales the following season during the 1891-92 British Home Championship as Ireland recorded a 7-2 win, and then in three successive international games, against Scotland, and the following season against England and Scotland in the 1892-93 British Home Championship tournament.[2] During the game against England, Ireland were awarded the first penalty kick in international football, after Gaffikin was tripped,[5] although Sam Torrans' kick was saved.

References

  1. ↑ The Times, Wednesday, January 1, 1936
  2. 1 2 3 "NIFG: George Gaffikin". Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Linfield FC 130 Year Anniversary 1886 - 2016 - History Article from Thursday's programme". Linfield FC. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Belfast Charity Cup". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  5. ↑ "Did you know? Ten of the most obscure Northern Ireland records". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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