Vic Watson

Vic Watson

Personal information
Full name	Victor Martin Watson
Date of birth	10 November 1897(1897-11-10)
Place of birth	Girton, Cambridgeshire, England
Date of death	3 August 1988(1988-08-03) (aged 90)
Place of death	Girton, Cambridgeshire, England
Playing position	Centre forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
19??–1920	Wellingborough Town
1920–1935	West Ham United	462	(298)
1935–1936	Southampton	36	(14)
National team
1923–1930	England	5	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Victor Martin Watson (10 November 1897 Girton, Cambridgeshire – 3 August 1988 Girton, Cambridgeshire) was an English footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United.

Watson, a centre forward, played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and 1936. The club paid just £50 for Vic from Wellingborough, bringing him in to provide cover for Syd Puddefoot.

Vic Watson is the club's record goalscorer with 326 goals, a feat unlikely to be bettered in the modern era. He once scored six, in an 8-2 home win against Leeds on 9 February 1929, scored four goals on three occasions, and managed 13 hat-tricks while at West Ham.

Watson gained two international caps with England in 1923 and a further three caps in 1930, scoring four goals in total, including two against Scotland in the 1930 British Home Championship.

He spent one season (1935–36) with Southampton before retiring and he was the club's top scorer with 14 goals in 36 league appearances.

Upon retiring, he became a market gardener in Girton. He died in August 1988 at the age of 90.

In June 2010 a plaque honoring Watson was unveiled in Girton.

External links

• Victor Watson profile at englandfc.com
• Vic Watson photos
• West Ham statistics