George Lillycrop was a professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 footballer, who played as a centre forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 for several English sides prior to and just after the First World War.

Club career

He started his career in the North East of England

North East England

North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

 playing for teams in the North Eastern League

North Eastern League

The North Eastern League was a football league for teams in the North East of England.The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play...

 before transferring to Barnsley sometime prior to 1910
. He played in both FA Cup finals that Barnsley reached in 1910

1910 FA Cup Final

The 1910 FA Cup Final was the 39th FA Cup final. It was contested by Barnsley and Newcastle United. It took two matches to determine a winner. The first took place at Crystal Palace in south London on 23 April 1910 and the second on 28 April at Goodison Park in Liverpool.-Barnsley:Home teams listed...

 and 1912

1912 FA Cup Final

The 1912 FA Cup Final was the 41st FA Cup final. It was contested by Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion. It took two matches to determine a winner...

. In the first Barnsley lost in the replay to Newcastle

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. In 1912 Lillycrop played a critical role in the qualifying rounds scoring 6 goals, several in replays. The 1912 Final went again to a replay but Barnsley won, defeating West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion F.C.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

 by one goal in extra time.
Given his key role in the qualifying rounds he doesn't feature much in the match day reports
In July 1913 he transferred to Bolton

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

 for £1300. He played a total of 52 games, scoring 32 goals. Bolton reached the FA cup semi-finals in 1915 where they were defeated by Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 captained by George Utley

George Utley

George Utley was an English footballer who played for Barnsley, Sheffield United and England. He was strong and powerful half back who could shoot at goal when required....

 his fellow wing half from Barnsley. After the war he returned to the North East playing for South Shields.

Coaching career

After the end of his playing career he took up coaching. He worked for South Shields, Gateshead

Gateshead F.C.

Gateshead Football Club are a professional Association football club, based in Gateshead, England. They currently play in the Conference National, the fifth level of the English football league system.Ian Bogie is the current manager....

 and Crewe Alexandra

Crewe Alexandra F.C.

Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...

.

Honours

Barnsley

Barnsley F.C.

Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

• FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
  : Runners Up 1910
  1910 FA Cup Final
  The 1910 FA Cup Final was the 39th FA Cup final. It was contested by Barnsley and Newcastle United. It took two matches to determine a winner. The first took place at Crystal Palace in south London on 23 April 1910 and the second on 28 April at Goodison Park in Liverpool.-Barnsley:Home teams listed...
  
  
• FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
  : Winners 1912
  1912 FA Cup Final
  The 1912 FA Cup Final was the 41st FA Cup final. It was contested by Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion. It took two matches to determine a winner...