George Arlow

The story of George Arlow is a sombre one as the talented outside forward passed away at the age 25 shortly after his only season at Ballymena FC.

Born in in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, Arlow’s football career shot to prominence at Junior club Springfield in 1922 as a 16-year-old. His performances attracted the first of two career moves to the town of Ballymena, as he joined Intermediate club Summerfield in January 1923.

Despite his youthfulness, he became a prominent figure on the wing at Summerfield during the 1923/1924 campaign. By the following season he had returned closer to home with East Belfast club, Willowfield. His stock continued to rise at the top end of the Intermediate League, as after a stellar first season at the club he was widely expected to make the move into senior football with Portadown, but the signing never materialised.

Willowfield finished runners-up to Crusaders in the 1926/1927 Intermediate League First Division season, which prompted a summer move to Seaview in search of silverware. It proved to be a huge mistake for George as the following season Willowfield went onto win the Irish Cup alongside the league, the Intermediate Cup and the Steel and Sons Cup in a remarkable quadruple winning season.

Despite missing out on medals, 22-year-old Arlow quickly transitioned into the senior ranks after less than season at Crusaders, as he joined Bangor March 1928, for the tail-end of the season. The outside forward made an instant impact by scoring on his debut in a 4-2 win over Barn United that same month. Arlow started the following season (1928/1929) in fine form for the Seasiders, as he adapted strongly to his first full campaign in senior football as a automatic starter for the club.

His performances caught the eye of Irish Cup holders Ballymena in the summer of 1929, who recruited the inside forward to add to their dynamic attacking line for their second season in Irish League football. It couldn’t have started better for George who scored nine minutes into his debut for the Light Blues away at Derry City!

The addition of Scottish forward Tom Kilpatrick in October 1929 would push Arlow down the pecking order at the Showgrounds and reduced his opportunity for a place in the team to just nine appearances (scoring three goals) which also meant missing out on a place in the Irish Cup Final defeat to Linfield at Celtic Park as his season, and subsequently his football career, was curtailed by serious illness.

As a result of the illness George Arlow passed away in June 1931 in Belfast aged 25, tragically becoming the first death of a player who had represented the club, and to this day – one of the youngest.

Career
(1922) Springfield; (Jan 1923) Summerfield; (Jun 1924) Willowfield; (Aug 1927) Crusaders; (Mar 1928) Bangor
(Aug 1929) Ballymena

Honours
(with Willowfield)
Intermediate League: (runner-up) 1926/1927