Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Jorge Robledo Oliver | ||
Date of birth | 14 April 1926 | ||
Place of birth | Iquique, Chile | ||
Date of death | 1 April 1989 | (aged 62)||
Place of death | Viña del Mar, Chile | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Playing position | Inside-forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1946–1949 | Barnsley | 105 | (45) |
1949–1953 | Newcastle United | 146 | (82) |
1953–1958 | Colo-Colo | 153 | (84) |
1959–1960 | Club Deportivo O'Higgins | ||
Total | 404 | (211) | |
National team | |||
1950–1957 | Chile | 31 | (8) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Jorge "George" Robledo Oliver (14 April 1926 – 1 April 1989) was a Chilean professional footballer. He played as a striker, and is most notable for his time spent with Newcastle United. He was the first non-British-registered foreign player to become top scorer in England.
Robledo was born in Iquique, Chile to a Chilean father and an English mother. He emigrated with his family to Brampton, Yorkshire in 1932, at the age of five, due to the instability in Chile at the time.
Robledo started his footballing career at Huddersfield Town, playing as a part-time amateur while he earned his money coal mining, though he never managed to break into the first team. He was able to give up the coal mining when he moved to Second Division Barnsley during World War II. First Division club Newcastle United signed him on 27 January 1949, for a fee of £26,500. The fee included his brother Ted; Newcastle were only interested in buying George but he refused to move without his brother.
Robledo's league debut for Newcastle came in the 2–0 victory away to Charlton Athletic on 5 February, while his first league goal came a month later in the derby match against Sunderland at St James' Park. Newcastle came out of the match 2–1 winners, with Robledo's goal separating the sides, helping to quickly make him a fan favourite. The other Newcastle goal scorer was Jackie Milburn, marking the start of one of the great striking partnerships in Newcastle United's history. Robledo went on to score 5 more goals in the last 12 games of the season.