George Frederick Allison (24 October 1883 – 13 March 1957) was an English football journalist, broadcaster and manager. He was the BBC's first sports commentator and Arsenal's second longest serving manager.
Journalism career
Allison was born in Hurworth-on-Tees, County Durham, and attended Holy Trinity School in Stockton. He started out as a judge's secretary in his native North East, while playing for a local amateur team in Stockton-on-Tees. Allison ran a sideline in writing about his own team's exploits, and he was eventually convinced by his editor to become a full-time journalist. A year in Devonport aside, Allison spent most of his time in the Cleveland and Middlesbrough areas, and was briefly assistant to the secretary-manager of Middlesbrough F.C. After a chance encounter with Lord Kitchener before the 1911 coronation of King George V, Allison became London correspondent for the New York Post and a year later joined the staff of William Randolph Hearst, remaining in this post until 1934.
During World War I Allison worked for the War Office and the Admiralty, producing propaganda By this time, he had already formed a strong association with the latter club.
Football career
Having been a keen footballer in his youth (although he failed to make the grade as a professional, the best being a trial with Shildon), after his move to London in 1906, Allison soon became associated with Woolwich Arsenal. He became the club's programme editor and continued his association with the team after they moved to Highbury and renamed themselves "Arsenal". He became a member of the club's board of directors soon after the end of the First World War; he was at first club secretary and then managing director.
Allison took a hands-off approach to managing, unlike his predecessor Chapman; Joe Shaw and Tom Whittaker took charge of training and squad discipline, while Allison concentrated on transfer policy and the club's relationship with the media. Allison's proponents have cited the trophies won under his reign, though by the end of the 1930s Arsenal were no longer the all-conquering team that they had once been. Allison was unable to replace many of the stars from the first half of the decade, especially Alex James.
With the advent of the Second World War, official competition in England was suspended. Allison continued to manage Arsenal in the Wartime League, going unpaid to do so. After hostilities had ended, many of the players that had made Arsenal a success (such as Cliff Bastin and Ted Drake) had retired from playing. Arsenal finished a disappointing 13th in 1946–47, and Allison, by now in his mid-sixties and tiring of managerial life, decided to step down and retire from the game. He died in 1957 after several years of illness.
Personal life
Allison married Ethel Swordy in 1912.
See also
- List of English football championship winning managers