George Oliver Robledo (14 April 1926 – 1 April 1989) was a Chilean professional footballer. He played as a striker, and is most notable for his time spent with Newcastle United. He was the first non-British-registered foreign player to become top scorer in England.
Robledo was born in Iquique, Chile to a Chilean father and an English mother. He moved with his family to Brampton, Yorkshire in 1932. He was five years old at the time. The family left due to the instability in Chile.
Robledo started his footballing career at Huddersfield Town. He played as a part-time amateur while earning his money coal mining. However, he never managed to break into the first team. He was able to give up the coal mining when he moved to Second Division Barnsley during World War II. First Division club Newcastle United signed him on 27 January 1949, for a fee of £26,500. The fee included his brother Ted. Newcastle were only interested in buying George. However, he refused to move without his brother.
Robledo’s league debut for Newcastle came in the 2–0 victory away to Charlton Athletic on 5 February. His first league goal came a month later in the derby match against Sunderland at St James’ Park. Newcastle came out of the match 2–1 winners. Robledo’s goal separated the sides. This helped to quickly make him a fan favourite. The other Newcastle goal scorer was Jackie Milburn. This marked the start of one of the great striking partnerships in Newcastle United’s history. Robledo went on to score 5 more goals in the last 12 games of the season.
The following season, George Robledo scored 11 goals for Newcastle. He then netted 14 times in the 1950–51 season. Robledo became the first South American to play in an FA Cup final. This occurred when Newcastle beat Blackpool 2–0 to lift the Cup. Robledo finished as Division One’s top scorer in the 1951–52 season with 33 goals. He scored 39 in all competitions, equalling Hughie Gallacher’s record. Robledo ended the season by scoring the goal that defeated Arsenal in the FA Cup final. This goal helped Newcastle lift the cup in successive seasons.
Embed from Getty ImagesGEORGE ROBLEDO
NEWCASTLE UNITED
In the 1952–53 season, Robledo scored 18 times. This took his all time goals record for Newcastle to 91. At the end of the season, Ted Robledo was sold to Colo-Colo. George soon followed him. Colo-Colo paid Newcastle £25,000 for his services. Both brothers were highly popular in Chile. George ended as top scorer in the Chilean league in 1953 with 26 goals. He also topped the charts in 1954 with 25 goals.
Robledo left Colo-Colo in 1958. He spent a year out of football. Then, he signed for Club Deportivo O’Higgins where he played out the final years of his career. He retired in 1960.
LATEST UPDATES
Leave a Reply