MARKSMAN: George Camsell, who scored a club record 345 goals in 453 league and cup appearances for Middlesbrough, plus 18 goals in nine appearances for England

WHAT A RUN! The Middlesbrough team from the 1926-27 season. From left, back row, J Miller, J Smith, Jim Mathieson, Reg Freeman, Don Ashman; front row, Billy Pease, Billy Birrell, George Camsell, Jack Carr, Owen Williams and Walter Holmes

SOME great and famous names have worn the number 9 shirt for Middlesbrough Football Club.

Men like Micky Fenton, Brian Clough, Alan Peacock, John O'Rourke, John Hickton and Fabrizio Ravanelli immediately spring to mind.

But none, not even Clough, scored as many goals as George Camsell's 59 League goals and 63 in all competitions in the 1926-27 season - the season that Middlesbrough were promoted from the Football League Division 2 into Division 1.

Right at this time of the year, in November and December1926, Camsell was slap bang in the middle of a phenomenal spell of goalscoring which took him not only to that club record 59 goals but to an English league record as well; unfortunately, a feat bettered by Everton's Dixie Dean who scored 60 goals the following season.

In 12 consecutive Second Division games between October 16th 1926 and January 1st 1927 Camsell scored 29 goals, as follows:

Sat Oct 16, 1926: Away to Nottingham Forest. Lost 4-3. Scored 1

Sat Oct 23, 1926: Home to Barnsley. Won 5-1. Scored 1

Sat Oct 30, 1926: Away to Darlington. Won 4-1. Scored 1

Sat Nov 6, 1926: Home to Portsmouth. Won 7-2. Scored 4

Sat Nov 13, 1926: Away to Oldham. Won 1-0. Scored 1

Sat Nov 20, 1926: Home to Fulham. Won 6-1. Scored 4

Sat Nov 27, 1926: Home to Southampton. Won 3-1. Scored 1

Sat Dec 4, 1926: Home to Blackpool. Drew 4-4. Scored 2

Sat, Dec 18, 1926: Home to Swansea. Won 7-1. Scored 4

Sat Dec 25, 1926: Away to Manchester City. Won 5-3. Scored 5

Sun Dec 26, 1926 : Home to Manchester City. Won 2-1. Scored 2

Sat, Jan 1, 1927: Home to Port Vale. Won 5-2. Scored 3

A total of twelve Second Division games in which he scored 29 goals.

The following season, 1927-28, Middlesbrough were relegated from Division 1, but Camsell still scored 33 goals in 40 games.

The season after that, 1928-29, Boro were once more promoted and Camsell hit another 30 goals.

His final game for the Boro was on April 10, 1939, a 3-2 home win over Leicester City, a game in which Camsell scored one goal to take his overall total of league and cup goals for the Boro to 345 in 453 appearances.

That is not only a club record but puts him in fifth position in the list of English league goalscorers.

Interestingly, the year 1927, when Camsell hit his record 59 goals, was also the year when Don Revie was born.

Revie was brought up in Bell Street, Middlesbrough, a five minute stroll from Ayresome Park and he once remarked: "Being born on Teesside, my boyhood idol was George Camsell. As a youngster I stood outside Ayresome Park for many an hour to get his autograph. I was only seven but I could sense the magic which surrounds a goalscorer."

Camsell also scored goals for England hitting 18 in nine appearances, the highest goals to games ratio of anyone who played more than a single game for England.

He scored in every match he played for England, his nine consecutive scoring appearances putting him second to Steve Bloomer and it included four goals in a 5-1 defeat of Belgium and a hat-trick in a 6-0 defeat of Wales.

Another Boro legend Wilf Mannion may have been a little jealous of Camsell because when asked about Camsell's goalscoring record, Mannion was reported to say: "Mind yer, that's arl he cud dee, sca goals."

Whether that is true or not, Camsell will go down as one of the Boro greats, and an everlasting tribute to him - Camsell Court - can be found on a housing development on the former site of Ayresome Park.

When his playing days were over Camsell remained at Ayresome Park, working as the club's chief scout, coach and assistant secretary. He died in March 1966 aged 63.

The Durham lad, born in Framwellgate Moor, may go down as the best England striker you never heard of.'

n An exhibition on the career of George Camsell is currently on display in the Dormans Museum in Middlesbrough until the New Year.

n Thanks to Keith Belton for his help with this article.