Past Masters No.8 - Gordon Hodgson

Liverpool FC Legends of Long Ago

If asked about Liverpool's all-time great goalscorers, certain names are sure to come up – Ian Rush, Roger Hunt, Billy Liddell, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Kenny Dalglish, Michael Owen, even Mohammed Salah.

The odds are that one of Liverpool's and indeed the Football League's greatest-ever goalscorers won't even get a mention. But Gordon Hodgson is 3rd on Liverpool's all-time goalscorers list, behind only Rush and Hunt, and ahead of all those other illustrious names. Only one, Roger Hunt, has scored more League goals for Liverpool, but unlike Sir Roger, all of Hodgson's 233 League goals came in the First Division, from 358 games, and his total of 241 goals came in just 377 appearances - a phenomenal goals-per-game ratio. Liverpool's all-time top scorer, Ian Rush, scored 229 league goals out of his total of 346.

Enough of stats, impressive though they are, what about the man and his story? How did a man born in Johannesburg, South Africa, come to the attention of Liverpool FC?

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