Howard Milton Girling (24 May 1922 – 7 January 1992) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside forward in the Football League for Brentford, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Howard Milton Girling[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1922-05-24)24 May 1922 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Date of death | 7 January 1992(1992-01-07) (aged 69)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Camden Town, England | ||
| Position(s) | Outside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1943–1947 | Crystal Palace | 26 | (6) |
| 1947–1951 | Brentford | 86 | (9) |
| 1951 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 4 | (0) |
| 1951–1958 | Hastings United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
An outside forward, Girling signed for Crystal Palace in 1942,[2] during the Second World War. After hostilities ceased in 1945, he made 27 appearances and scored six goals for the Third Division South club before departing in February 1947.[1][2]
Girling moved up the pyramid to rejoin First Division strugglers Brentford in February 1947, for whom he had previously guested during the Second World War.[3] He made 15 appearances in what remained of the 1946–47 season and was unable to help the club from relegation to the Second Division.[4] He established himself in the team in the 1947–48 season, making 35 appearances.[4] His appearance-count reduced over the next two seasons, so much so that he spent 1950–51 in the reserves, before leaving Griffin Park at the end of that season.[3] Girling made 90 appearances and scored 10 goals in four years with Brentford.[3]
In July 1951, Girling dropped down to the Third Division South to join Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic for a short spell.[1]
Girling dropped into non-League football and ended his career with Southern League club Hastings United.[3] A highlight of his time with the Us were two runs to the third round proper of the FA Cup.[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Southport | 1945–46[5] | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Crystal Palace | 1946–47[2] | Third Division South | 26 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 6 | |
| Brentford | 1946–47[4] | First Division | 15 | 1 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 1947–48[4] | Second Division | 33 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 35 | 6 | ||
| 1948–49[4] | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 1949–50[4] | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| Total | 86 | 9 | 4 | 1 | — | 90 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 112 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 118 | 17 | ||