Gilbert Alsop was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

.

Early career

Alsop was born in Frampton Cotterell

Frampton Cotterell

Frampton Cotterell is a village and parish, in South Gloucestershire, south west England on the River Frome. The village is continuous with Winterbourne to the south-west and Coalpit Heath to the east. The parish borders Iron Acton to the north and Westerleigh to the south-east, the large town of...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

. After leaving school, he signed for Latteridge F.C. for a time, before signing professionally for Bath City F.C.

Bath City F.C.

Bath City Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset. They play in the Conference National league after gaining promotion from the Conference South via the play-offs in May 2010...

 in August 1923. In December 1929 he moved to Coventry City

Coventry City F.C.

Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

 for two seasons, making 16 league appearances and scoring four times.

Walsall and WBA

In September 1931 he started the first of two spells at Walsall F.C.

Walsall F.C.

Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

, and in 1933 he scored the opening goal as Walsall shocked Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 in the 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...

.

After Walsall, he moved to 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...

 in November 1935 for two seasons, but his first team opportunities were severely limited by the form of W. G. Richardson

W. G. Richardson

William "Ginger" Richardson often referred to as W.G. Richardson and by the nickname 'Ginger' to avoid confusion with team mate Bill Richardson, was an English professional football player, who played as a centre forward...

 and Harry 'Popeye' Jones. His only league appearance for the club was against Huddersfield Town in a Division One match, in November 1935.

Ipswich and return to Walsall

Alsop signed for Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town F.C.

Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

in May 1937, and he scored 30 goals in 39 senior matches. He returned to Walsall in October 1938, and made over 100 war-time appearances, and eventually retired in May 1948.