Joe Bambrick
Blue plaque noting six goal hero Bambrick's home in Roden Street, Belfast
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Gardiner Absolom Bambrick | ||
| Date of birth | 3 November 1905 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 13 October 1983 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre-forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1926–1927 | Glentoran | 22 | (28) |
| 1927–1935 | Linfield | 183 | (286) |
| 1935–1938 | Chelsea | 59 | (34) |
| 1938–1939 | Walsall | 35 | (15) |
| Total | 299 | (364) | |
| National team | |||
| 1928–1938 | Ireland (IFA) | 11 | (12) |
| 1927–1932 | Irish League XI | 12 | (9) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Joseph Gardiner Absolom "Joe" Bambrick, (3 November 1905 – 13 October 1983), was an Irish footballer who played for Chelsea, Walsall, Glentoran, and Linfield.
A former gas worker of medium build, he was a prolific goalscorer in the Irish League and the Football League, adept at getting into good scoring positions and athletic enough to make the final touch count. “Head, heel or toe, slip it to Joe” became a famous catch-phrase when referring to him. His scoring of six goals for Ireland v Wales at Celtic Park on 1 February 1930 in a 7–0 win, still remains the record score for a British Isles player in an international fixture.
Bambrick began his professional career with Glentoran, spending a season there before moving to Belfast rivals Linfield. His scoring record with Linfield was phenomenal: he scored a total of 286 league goals in just 183 games, 50 of these coming in the 1930-31 season, which was the highest in the world that year and a then record in British football (Fred Roberts of Glentoran scored 55 the following season). In total that season he managed 96 goals in all competitions, and his overall goal tally for Linfield was 509 goals managed in just 8 years, finishing as Irish League top scorer on four occasions.
On 24 December 1935 Bambrick signed for English side Chelsea for a fee of £3,000, making his debut the following day (Christmas Day) against Aston Villa. He then scored his first goal the day after (Boxing Day) also against Aston Villa at Villa Park. Bambrick scored Chelsea's goal in their highest-attended competitive match at their ground Stamford Bridge. A crowd of 82,905 watched the 1-1 draw with local rivals Arsenal on 12 October 1935. In total he scored 38 goals in 66 appearances for Chelsea, including four hat-tricks (on two of these occasions he managed four goals).
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