Jackie Gibbons
Albert Henry “Jackie” Gibbons (10 April 1914 – 4 July 1984) was an English footballer and later a manager. Born in Fulham, he began his career as an amateur with Kingstonian, Uxbridge and Hayes. Family influence might have seen him join Fulham in 1934, but instead he turned professional with Tottenham Hotspur in 1937. He scored on his debut in a 3–0 win at Sheffield Wednesday on 16 September 1937 and earned the nickname “Wings” for his RAF service.
At Spurs he made a big impact in the 1937–38 season, playing 36 games and scoring 18 goals, with 12 of those goals coming as four consecutive hat-tricks. He moved to Brentford in 1938 for a short stint, then rejoined Spurs in 1939 but did not play before the war interrupted football. During World War II he guest-played for several clubs, including Bradford Park Avenue, Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and Reading.
After the war, Gibbons turned professional with Bradford Park Avenue and helped them reach the Sixth Round of the FA Cup, scoring four goals in an 8–2 win over Manchester City in January 1946. He then joined Brentford for a club-record transfer fee of £8,000 in 1947 and was the Bees’ top scorer in the 1947–48 season. He made a total of 71 appearances and scored 19 goals for Brentford across both spells before retiring in February 1949.
Gibbons became a manager, taking charge of Brentford from 1949 to 1952. He brought in Ron Greenwood and football analyst Charles Reep, helping improve the team’s goals-to-games ratio and guiding Brentford to several top-10 finishes in the Second Division, though financial difficulties and disagreements led to his resignation in 1952.
His international managerial career took him abroad. He led Daring Club Bruxelles to the Belgian Second Division title in 1954–55, then took charge of the Israel national team in 1956, including guiding Israel to the AFC Asian Cup final and a runner-up finish. He also managed Hapoel Petah Tikva and Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel, Rangers Transvaal in South Africa, and Kenya from 1966 to 1967. He spent time coaching in Australia and worked in Kenya for Coca-Cola in the 1960s.
Gibbons played for England at amateur level, earning six caps and scoring six goals, and won one wartime cap for England. He attended West Kensington Central School and served in the Royal Air Force, earning the nickname “Wings.” He passed away in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1984 at the age of 70.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:53 (CET).