George Clawley (10 April 1875 – 16 July 1920) was an English professional goalkeeper who played for Stoke, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In his first two-year spell with The Saints he was ever-present, captaining the south coast club to the Southern League title in both 1896–97 and 1897–98.
[2] According to Holley & Chalk's "The Alphabet of the Saints" Clawley was "one of the finest uncapped goalkeepers ever to grace the football field of England".
[3] In addition to their league success, Southampton reached the FA Cup Semi-finals where they took Nottingham Forest to a replay.
Renowned for his ability to leave his line to catch crosses and corners, or clear through-balls from the feet of onrushing attackers at a time when goalkeepers usually left such duties to their defenders, Clawley became an early exponent of recovering quickly from making an initial save to block a follow-up.
[5] Once again Stoke had some success in the FA Cup, reaching the semi-finals where they were defeated 3–1 by a Steve Bloomer hat-trick for Derby County.
[6] In the first match of the 1901 FA Cup final against Sheffield United, Spurs were 2–1 up (both goals from Sandy Brown) when in a goalmouth scramble Clawley turned the ball around the post for what should have been a corner.