George Hardwick was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player and coach. During his time as an active player, he played left defender for Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

. He was also a member of the England national football team

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

, playing in 12 international matches and serving as the team's first post-World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 captain.

In 1947, the nations of Great Britain joined together to form a football team, which Hardwick captained and lead to victory (6-1) against the rest of Europe.

Due to a knee injury Hardwick had to terminate his international career after 12 matches. He is held in high esteem by Middlesbrough fans, and is regarded as the greatest defender in the club's history.

After his career as a player, Hardwick served as player manager for Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

 and manager for PSV Eindhoven, and, from 1959 to 1961, the Netherlands national football team

Netherlands national football team

The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

. He later managed Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 and Gateshead

Gateshead F.C.

Gateshead Football Club are a professional Association football club, based in Gateshead, England. They currently play in the Conference National, the fifth level of the English football league system.Ian Bogie is the current manager....

.

Today his legacy lives on in the form of The George Hardwick Foundation http://www.georgehardwickfoundation.org, a charity dedicated to helping carers, former carers and patients. The Patron is his wife Jennifer, who cared for George during his latter years. They have three main sites at Stockton, Middlesbrough and The University Hospital of North Tees.

External links

• George Hardwick, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database