Another unseen treasure from City's historic collection, Club Historian John Hutchinson looks into the shirt of outside-right George Douglas, who joined Leicester Fosse from Ilford in May 1912 as an amateur.
During his first season at Leicester, he won two England amateur international caps in March 1913. He was selected to play against Germany in Berlin when he scored twice in a 3-0 win.
Three days later he played against Holland in the Hague when England lost 2-1. One of his England shirt crests from these matches, illustrated here, is in the Club’s Heritage Collection.
His first professional contract for Leicester Fosse, awarded in the 1913 close season, was worth £4. It was cancelled in April 1915 due to the First World War, during which he fought on the Western Front having joined the Leicestershire Royal Horse Artillery and later the Royal Field Artillery.
After a delayed demobilisation, George scored the first ever goal for the newly named Leicester City in August 1919 against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Later that season he was introduced to King George V, along with his team-mates, before an FA Cup tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
In February 1921, after playing 130 games for Leicester Fosse and Leicester City, George transferred to that season’s league champions Burnley. He later played for Oldham Athletic and Bristol Rovers before becoming player-coach at Tunbridge Wells Rangers and Dover.
