Verdi Godwin

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]

Verdi Godwin
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

Career

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]

Personal life

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]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Blackburn Rovers 1946–47[8] First Division 15100151
1947–48[8] 12500125
Total 27 6 0 0 27 6
Manchester City 1948–49[5] First Division 830083
Stoke City 1949–50[8] First Division 22210232
Mansfield Town 1949–50[8] Third Division North 177— 177
1950–51[8] 14200142
Total 31 9 0 0 31 9
Grimsby Town 1951–52[8] Third Division North 100010
Brentford 1951–52[9] Second Division 10— 10
1952–53[9] 610061
1953–54[9] 000000
Total 7 1 0 0 7 1
Southport 1954–55[10] Third Division North 17200172
Barrow 1955–56[8] Third Division North 15311164
Tranmere Rovers 1955–56[8] Third Division North 142— 142
Macclesfield 1958–59[6] Cheshire County League 3 0 1 0 4 0
Career Total 145283114829

References
  1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. "R.I.P Verdi Godwin (Southport)". OTSNews. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  3. "Player Details". SFC FPA. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  4. "Verdi Godwin". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. "Verdi Godwin – Manchester City Player Statistics". StatCity. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  6. "Season Statistics – Cheshire League – 1958–59". www.silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  7. Brentford Football Club Official Programme versus Brighton & Hove Albion. 10 February 2007. p. 39.
  8. Verdi Godwin at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  9. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 381–382. ISBN 0951526200.
  10. "Player Details". Port Online. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  • Verdi Godwin at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
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