Gordon Hoare

Who was Gordon Hoare?

Gordon Rahere Hoare was an English amateur football player

Born in Blackheath, Hoare started out with junior sides such as West Norwood, Woolwich Polytechnic and Bromley before joining Woolwich Arsenal in 1907. He made his League debut in a First Division match against Sheffield Wednesday on 20 April 1908, the last day of the 1907-08 season. Although he played 11 League matches in 1908-09, scoring five goals, unhappy at the lack of regular first team football and moved to Glossop North End in December 1909.

He lasted a year at Glossop before returning to Woolwich Arsenal in December 1910. He scored six times in fourteen games for Arsenal in the 1910-11 season but was once again dropped at the start of the following season, unable to oust John Chalmers and Charles Randall from the front line. He rejoined Glossop in February 1912; in total, he played 34 times for Arsenal, scoring 13 goals.

Having been an amateur throughout his career, he was part of the English team which represented Great Britain the 1912 Summer Olympics, which won the gold medal in the football tournament. He played all three matches and scored two goals.

After his second spell at Glossop, Hoare went on to play for Queens Park Rangers and Fulham, finally retiring in 1920. He died in 1973, aged 89.