George Haigh

As football teams around the country nervously look at the table and try and work out if they’re safe for next season, here’s one ex-player who didn’t guarantee survival. To give you an idea of how old he was, George Haigh was in the same Manchester City youth team as Frank Swift. Haigh didn’t make it as a professional with the Citizens (although they did make him the “oldest ever Academy graduate in 2018), but he did manage to play two games for Stockport County prior to the outbreak of World War II. After hostilities ceased, he captained Leicester City before taking up a role as player-manager with Rossendale United. He had widely been believed to be the oldest living professional footballer until Arthur Smith was unearthed a few years ago. With Haigh’s death, Smith is now the last surviving footballer to have played a professional game prior to the outbreak of World War II.

George Haigh
26 June 1915 – 23 April 2019
Died aged 103 (two picks)