@frasermc what do you know about Willie McStay? Is putting him as a top three player in the world in 1926 a bridge to far?
1927 This is the year where things really start to pick up in my opinion, with many candidates for the 23 that can't make the list. The Mitropa Cup is starting and Italy is emerging as equal to the Czechs, Hungary, and Austria who are all improving still. Scotland still has a few more years on top but England is now challenging them and Wales generation of top players are still going. Argentina now asserts itself as Uruguay's equal as well. Baloncieri, Adolfo (Torino, Italy) Brown, George (Huddersfield Town, England) Carricaberry, Alfredo (San Lorenzo, Argentina) Davies, Len (Cardiff City, Wales) Dean, Dixie (Everton, England) Ferguson, Hughie (Cardiff City) Gallacher, Hughie (Newcastle, Scotland) Goodall, Roy (Huddersfield, England) Hill, Jack (Burnley, England) Kohut, Vilmos (Ferencvaros, Hungary) Kolenatý, František (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Libonatti, Julio (Torino, Italy) McGrory, Jimmy (Celtic) Monti, Luis (San Lorenzo, Argentina) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Pešek, Karel (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Petit, Rene (Real Union) Puč, Antonín (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Scarone, Hector (Nacional, Uruguay) Schall, Anton (Admira Vienna, Austria) Seoane, Manuel (Independiente, Argentina) Silny, Josef (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Tarasconi, Domingo (Boca Juniors) Honorable Mention: Josef Blum, Ignaz Sigl, Johann Klima, Antonín Perner, František Svoboda, Vic Watson, George Camsell, Fred Keenor, Alex Jackson, Hans Kalb, Gino Rossetti, Francisco Gamborena, Arthur Friedenreich, Nilo, Manuel Ferriera, Ludovico Bidoglio, Juan Evaristo On the continent the Czechs had a great year on multiple levels. For the national an extensive 10 game schedule was played this year, with 7 victories, 3 draws, and 0 defeats with home and away wins over tradition rivals Austria and Hungary. The solid core of aging but still effective halfbacks and fullbacks (Pesek, Kolenatý, Perner) were joined by a new generation of young talented attackers (Puč, Silny, Svoboda) to make an excellent team. On the club side Sparta won the league and the first Mitropa Cup with Pesek and Silny starring. Slavia also preformed well in the Mitropa Cup. Itlay had a strong year led by the Trio of wonders from Torino, who won the Italian title that was later revoked. Austria and Hungary both had mixed results. In Britain Scotland continued its dominance in the first two games of the home championship before a final confrontation with England in Glascow. At this point Scotland had won all of its last 8 matches by a combined score of 21-1. In front of over 100,000 Scottish fans a star was born as Dixie Dean scored a brace for England to defeat Scotland 2-1 and claim a share of the Home Championship, its only success of the whole decade. It was England's first win over Scotland since 1920 and their first win in Scotland since 1904. Dean was applauded by the Scottish fans after the game. Dean also scored a brace earlier in the tournament vs Wales and was the tournaments top scorer. He then went on England's short tour of Europe and ended the season scoring 11 goals in only 5 games. Scotland's star striker Hughie Gallacher had his legendary season with Newcastle, almost single handedly leading them to the first division title, scoring 39 goals in 41 games for the year. Cardiff's excellent team became the first non English side to win the FA Cup, with the excellent Welsh core joined by prolific Scottish striker Hughie Ferguson. In Scotland Rangers regained the league title and Celtic's goal scoring machine Jimmy McGrory topped the scoring charts with 48 goals in only 33 games and led Celtic to the Scottish Cup title where he scored 9 goals in 6 games. In South America a number of major happenings occurred in Argentina. For the first time Argentina unified their two leagues into a single unified league. San Lorenzo won the league over Boca Juniors by one point (the two teams were previously in separate league) led by Luis Monti and Alfredo Carricaberry. Both these players would play important roles in Argentina's victory in the 1927 South American Championships. This was Argentina's first major victory over the Scarone/Andrade/Nasazzi Uruguay, which was achieved at a neutral site in Peru. There were a ton of good players I had to leave out. Winger Ignaz Sigl was seen as nearly as import to Admira's success as Anton Schall and he was a bigger player for the national team at this point. Antonín Perner was a stalwart for the all conquering Czech and Sparta teams. Fred Keenor was the captain of the historic Cardiff FA Cup winning team. Gino Rossetti was a major part of the famous Trio of Wonders that dominated Italy. Alex Jackson led Huddersfield to second in the large and was still a major part of the still successful Scottish team. Ludovico Bidoglio and Juan Evaristo were likely seen as the top players at theri positions in South America after their excellent seasons with Boca Junior and ever present roles in the national team. There were many with top three qualifications as well. Some who did not make the top three this year would make it in many other years. The three most legendary British centerforwards of the time all had one of their best seasons ever. Carricaberry was the top scorer and star for the first team to ever win a unified Argentinian League and then went on to lead hos country to its first victory over Uruguay since its rise to power, scoring 4 goals in 5 games for Argentina. Silny was every bit as important to Sparta and Czechoslovakia as Pesek.
The impression I have gotten is that he was viewed as the second best player in the Spanish league during the 20s after Samiter.
Personally I think that Camsell has to be in there for this season. I know it was in the Second Division but he scored 59 goals to win them the league. I'm not sure at this time as well quite what the disparity would be between the two leagues. Further to my previous observations, I think the Second Division would still have been one of the best leagues in the world at the time.
I just had a look in the book "Association Football" from 1960 and in it there is a fairly lengthy section about the best players in each position. It's primarily centred on the pre-WW2 era, but McStay wasn't mentioned at all. Not sure that that is conclusive but I wasn't aware of him being regarded as operating at quite so lofty a level.
I know he was still pretty young in 1924 but I always gelt Petrone had a good shout for top 3, top scorer at both the SA Champs and also the Olympics that year, 14 goals across the two competitions. There is a pretty good case for a Uruguay 1-2-3. Keep up the good work, the depth to this is very impressive.
To be perfectly honest I'm not 100% sure. His main attributes - strong, clean tackler, fearless, never ducked out of a challenge - could all be used to describe the vast amount of footballers at that time in the UK. He was physically very strong and very competitive making him an ideal captain for both Celtic and Scotland. He was also pretty decent with the ball at his feet making him a very good right back at the time but I'm unsure as to whether he could be described as being one of the best three players in the world at any given time.
I have read a little more about Hirzer last night. I will probably move him into McStay's spot. The thing I guess I did not realize about Hirzer was how much of a abnormal talent he was in the Italian League. He was most well known for his speed and his dribbling.
I think Dean has a good case for being top for both 1927 and 1928, 12 in his first 5 games for England and also 36 goals in all competitions for Everton in 26-27 season and the big season of 60 league goals the following season (67 in all comps) of which a number would have been in 1927 strengthening his case for that year. Personally I would have Andrade for 1924 and 1926 and Dean for 1927 and 1928, and probably Scarone for 1925.
1928 Baloncieri, Adolfo (Torino, Italy) Braine, Raymond (Beerschot, Belguim) Cherro, Roberto (Boca Juniors, Argentina) Dean, Dixie (Everton, England) Ferreira, Manuel (Estudiantes, Argentina) Gestido, Álvaro (Penarol, Uruguay) Jackson, Alex (Huddersfield Town, Scotland) James, Alex (Preston North End, Scotland) Libonatti, Julio (Torino, Italy) Levratto, Virgilio (Genoa, Italy) McGrory, Jimmy (Celtic, Scotland) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Orsi, Raimundo (Independiente, Argentina) Petrone, Pedro (Nacional, Uruguay) Platko, Franz (Barcleona) Puč, Antonín (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Samiter, Josep (Barcelona) Scarone, Hector (Nacional, Uruguay) Schall, Anton (Admira Vienna, Austria) Stábile, Guillermo (Huracan) Takács, József (Frenencvaros, Hungary) Turay, József (Frenencvaros, Hungary) Wesely, Ferinand (Rapid Vienna, Austria) Honorable Mention: Ignaz Sigl, Warney Cresswell, Arthur Rigby, Jimmy McMullan, Jimmy Gibson, Hughie Gallacher, George Brown, David Meikljohn, Bob McPhail, Vilmos Kohut, Angelo Schiavio, Antonio Janni, Gino Rossetti, José Nasazzi, Andrade, Jose Leonadro, Luis Monti, Domingo Tarasconi In Britain there are a couple of major events. First is Dixie Dean's 60 goal title winning season for Everton. Huddersfield Town was the first team to threaten to win the double in the inter war period, as they held 1st place well into April and reached the FA Cup final, with Alex Jackson again starring, scoring a very impressive 24 goals from the wing. The Home Championship started as a muddled affair with Ireland and Wales both outperforming Scotland and England. In the final game of the tournament Scotland cut England to pieces in the famous Wimbley Wizards game, defeating their rivals 5-1 in London. Alex James (brace), Alex Jackson (hat trick), and Alan Morton (3 assists) were the stars, the sentiment has been expressed that England were lucky to only concede 5. In Scotland Rangers had a historic year winning the double and finally winning the elusive Scottish Cup in dramatic fashion, beating rivals Celtic 4-0 in the final. It was a big year for the continent as well, with the Mitropa Cup and Olympics to be played. In Hungary Ferencvaros won their third straight league title, paced by Takas' 31 goals in 22 games. Ferencvaros also won the Mitropa Cup in dominating fashion, outscoring opponents 26-8 in the tournament. Takacs was again star and top scorer with 10 goals in 6 games. Hungary had a forgettable international year with Takacs failing to repeat his club form, scoring only once in 5 games. The Czechs had another very strong international year winning 5 and losing only once. In Austria Anton Schall had a historically great goalscoring season (36 goals in 24 games) leading Admira to their second straight title. Strangely he was only capped once for Austria, who had a good international year. Italy were the big story as the new emerging power in the region. Torino won their second straight title on the backs of their great inside trio. The leader of the team Baloncieri also starred for the national team, scoring 8 in 11 games and being one of the top players at the Olympics. He was the central hub of a very offensive, un-Italian, national team that scored an amazing 42 goals in 12 games. In South America the impressive domestic accomplishment were likely overshadowed by the Olympic campaigns of Uruguay and Argentina. Huracan won the second unified Argentina League over more fancied sides like Boca Junior, Independiente, and San Lorenzo. Guillermo Stábile was the star of the team scoring 28 goals, although no Huracan players were major features in the national team. Likewise in Uruguay Penarol won the first totally reunified league, far clear of their rivals Nacional, despite that Nacional had nearly the entire national team on its roster, while Penarol had only one major contributor, Gestido. Penarol impressively won 3-0 over Huracan in the Copa Aldo in Argentina. In the Olympics it is a bit tough to pick out the top preformers. Uruguay had a very impressive road to the finals, beating three solid European teams, Netherlands, German, and Italy. The final ended in a 1-1 draw and Uruguay won the replay 2-1. Uruguay rotated its whole front line making it hard to single out a star player. Both Petrone and Scarone only player 3 of the 5 games with both having important contributions in the games they played. Petrone scored a hat trick vs Germany and the only goal in the first leg of the final. Scarone scored in all three games he played including the winning goals vs Italy and Argentina (the tournament winning goal vs Argentina was an impressive long range effort). For Argentina the offense preformed impressively, but that seems to be in large part because of the easy road to the final with games against the United States, Belguim, and Eygpt. I ended up leaving out a number of deserving players, especially on the British side with players like McMullan, Brown, and Meikljohn all seeming very deserving. The top three was again crowded. I feel like Jackson and Dean are for sure, even if that is very British centric. The continent had multiple great performances from Schall, Takacs, and Baloncieri. The thing that tipped me in the Italian's favor was his excellent international performance, whereas Schall and Takacs did not make an impact there. One of players I was closest to putting in the top 3 was Morton, but I feel like that would have to be at the expense of Jackson, who was also great for club and country, as 3 British players is too many with so many good performances from the rest of the world. I really wanted to include a Uruguayan player in the top 3 as their Olympic run was very impressive defeating four good teams. With the rotation of the forwards, the injury to Andrade, and Nassazi's missed time due to a sending off there is no clear candidate, seems to be more of a full team effort.
I personally think McGrory has a good shout for 1927. 8 hat tricks in total over the season. A season so strong (along with the 27/28 season) that convinced Arsenal to attempt to make him the highest paid player in the UK. His staggering amount of goals is even more remarkable when you consider that Celtic were in a period of decline over much of the mid to late 1920's.
I agree with the sentiment, he had an amazing year, I just don't known who he would bump out of the top three.
1929 Adcock, Hugh (Leicester, England) Blenkinsop, Ernie (Sheffield Wednesday, England) Camsell, George (Middlesbrough, England) Evaristo, Juan (Boca Junior, Argentina) Ferreira, Manuel (Estudiantes, Argentina) Gallacher, Hughie (Newcastle, Scotland) González, Aurelio (Olimpia, Paraguay) Halliday, David (Sunderland) Horvath, Hans (Rapid Vienna, Austria) Ivar, Istan (Ujpest, Hungary) Jackson, Alex (Huddersfield Town, Scotland) Juve, Jørgen (Lyn, Norway) Leinberger, Ludwig (Furth, Germany) Meikljohn, David (Rangers, Scotland) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Pitto, Alfredo (Bologna, Italy) Plánička, František (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Puč, Antonín (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Rossetti, Gino (Torino, Italy) Rubio, Gaspar (Real Madrid, Spain) Schiavio, Angelo (Bologna, Italy) Takács, József (Frenencvaros, Hungary) Zamora, Ricardo (RDC Espanol, Spain) Honorable Mention: Roman Schramseis, Franz Weselik, David Jack, Billy Walker, Jimmy Flemming, Alex James, Joseph Nibloe, Alec Cheyne, Georg Frank, Jenő Kalmár, Giuseppe Meazza, Julio Libonatti, Francisco Varallo, Ángel Bossio, Russinho In Britain Scotland delivered on the attacking promise they had showed in the Wembly Wizards game, winning all 3 of the 1929 home championship games scoring 12 goals. Gallacher, James, Jackson, and Morton combined to form an irresistible front line. Sheffielod Wednesday won the English League, while George Camsell had an amazing calendar year for England scoring 11 times in 4 games in 1929. On the continent, unfancied Ujpest (3rd place in Hungarian league) comfortably won the Mitrpoa Cup, led by Istan Ivar. This would be a sign of things to come as multiple club titles would follow. Spain won all three of its games including becoming the first continental side to beat England. Germany also appeared to be catching up to its continental counterparts, beating Italy in Italy and drawing with Scotland. Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Czechs all had middling international years. In South America Argentina would get revenge for the 1928 Olympic final loss defeating Uruguay in the South American Championships. Also surprising was Paraguay achieving second place over Uruguay, led by the tournaments top scorer Aurelio Gonzales, who scored 2 in the 3-0 victory over Uruguay. The top three this year was more of a search for good candidates than being overwhelmed by them as in the past two years. Zamora was part of an excellent Spanish national team and led unfancied RDC Espanol to the Copa del Rey, still the most important title in Spain. Morton gets the nod as the Scottish rep for their great attacking play and Rangers utterly dominating season, winning the league by 16 points! This was also Morton's best domestic goalscoring season. The last candidate was tough to find a well qualified player. Ferreira was excellent for Argenitna but Estudientes finished 10th in the league. Ivar is a decent shout as well despite placing third in the league. Camesell also deserves some consideration but if I am being consistent his goal scoring run is split between 1929 and 1930, his team was also regulated at the end of the season with not overly impressive goalscoring stats for him.
Looking for any more input on possible changes before a revised list and summary is posted for the whole 1920s.
I thought given my earlier comment about McStay that it might be interesting to include the players who were mentioned by Ivan Sharpe as the best in his articles about various positions. Interesting to note that in 1960 he still regarded "the ten years preceding the first world war ... as the golden age of football". I will just mention the players by name because these sections go on for 40 or so pages and then if there are particular details wanted then I can try and provide them. It's not in any order, just a long discussion, so the ones first aren't necessarily the best. Goalkeepers Sam Hardy Elisha Scott Rudi Hiden Ricardo Zamora Beara Jerry Dawson Leigh Richmond Roose Frank Swift Bert Trautmann Harry Hibbs Gil Merrick Ted Taylor Howard Matthews Jack Harding Albert Gray Ted Ditchburn Joe Glossop Jack Whitley Bert Williams Ted Sagar Sam Bartram R.G. Brebner Howard Baker
Sorry Tom, hopefully I'm not spamming the thread (please let me know if I am and I'll put this somewhere else). Full-Backs (by which he means defenders) Bob Campbell Jock Marshall Jock Hutton George Young Howard Spencer Bob Crompton Herbert Smith Jesse Pennington Laurie Scott George Male David Taylor James Sharp Jimmy Blair Dicky Downs Karl Sesta Leslie Hofton Moses Russell AM Walters PM Walters Alf Ramsey Sam Barkas Tom Cooper Ernest Blenkinsop Bert Sproston George Hardwick John Carey CB Fry Bill McCracken Jose Emilio Santamaria William Martinez Victor Rodriguez Andrade
Centre-halfs John Charles Harry Johnston Billy Wright Stan Cullis Billy Wedlock Johnnie Holt Charlie Roberts Ernest Needham Ernst Ocwirk Frank Barson Joe McCall Alex Raisbeck Andy Aitken Nils Middelboe Jack Hill Tom Bradshaw Tom Griffiths Jimmy Seddon Tom Boyle Colin Veitch Davie Meiklejohn Neil McBain Jimmy Harrop Fred Keenor Jack Barker Neil Franklin Tom Wilson Charles Thomson Frank Buckley Herbert Roberts
Wing halves Matt Busby George Richards Norman Bullock George Brown Jimmy Gibson Neil Gibson Jack Crayston Frank Cuggy Tom Galley Jackie Bray Frank Soo Henry Cockburn Jimmy McMullen Charlie Jones Ken Willingham Bill Shankly Peter McWilliam Andy Ducat Clifford Britton Bob Glendinning William Hardy David Steele Harry Healless Willis Edwards Ronnie Burgess Bill Nicholson Alex Forbes Ray Barlow Ronnie Clayton Duncan Edwards Wilf Copping Kenneth Hunt Ben Warren Tom Brittleton Arthur Grimsdell Joe Mercer Ron Flowers
Outside forwards Billy Meredith Stanley Matthews Alan Morton Alex Jackson Joe Hulme Julinho Billy Bassett WC Athersmith Fred Spiksley John Rutherford Jack Sharp Fred Pentland Jocky Simpson Charles Wallace Alfed Quantrill Sam Chedgzoy Sammy Crooks Bobby Langton Willie Waddell Jimmy Delaney George Wall Jimmy Dimmock Fred Tunstall Eric Brook Cliff Bastin Billy Liddell Johnny Hancocks Jack Rowley Jimmy Mullen Harold Hardman Fred Walden Ted Vizard Bobby Mitchell Tom Finney
Hi Tom, I have not studied the period in great detail, but have seen the opinions of many posters, and based on these, I would include the following players in the Top 23 (and sometimes in the Top3): 1920: Josep Samitier (Copa del Rey with Barcelona, Olympic silver medal). Orth (MTK) could be moved into the Top3. 1922: Alan Morton (Rangers), Charlie Buchan (Sunderland) Orth (MTK) could be moved into the Top3 once again. 1923: Alan Morton (Rangers) could be moved into the Top3. 1925: Alan Morton (Rangers) and Manuel Seoane could be moved into the Top3. You never mentioned the pro league in the USA. This year Archie Stark (Bethlehem Steel) scored 67 league goals, he could be a candidate for the Top23. 1927: McGrory (Celtic) could be moved into the Top3. 1928: Gallacher (Newcastle, Scotland) 1929 There is a spelling mistake: Avar, Istvan (not Ivar) I am looking forward to your revisions. Also, do not you plan to go back in time, and do the same Top 23 from 1904, when the FIFA was formed? What if they started a worldwide 23 man Balon d'Or short list and nominated 3 finalists already in their first year?
Revised Lists 1920 Braun, Jozsef (MTK, Hungary) Buchan, Charlie (Sunderland, England) Calomino, Pedro (Boca Juniors, Argentina) Coppe, Robert (Union SG, Belgium) Foglino, Alfredo (Nacional, Uruguay) Friedenreich, Arthur (Paulistano) Gordan, Jimmy (Rangers, Scotland) Hardy, Sam (Aston Villa, England) Janda, Antonín (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Kelly, Bob (Burnley, England) Konrad, Kalman (Amateur Vienna) Morris, Fred (West Brom, England) Neco (Corinthians) Orth, György (MTK, Hungary) Pennington, Jesse (West Brom, England) Pešek, Karel (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Piendibene, José (Penarol, Uruguay) Romano, Ángel (Nacional, Uruguay) Sesúmaga, Felix (Barcelona, Spain) Stuhlfauth, Heinrich (Nurnberg, Germany) Swartenbroeks, Armand (Daring, Belgium) Swatosch, Ferdinand (Simmeringer, Austria) Zamora, Ricardo (Barcelona, Spain) By Country: England (5), Hungary (3), Uruguay (3), Spain (3), Belgium (2), Brazil (2), Czechoslovakia (2), Germany (1), Austria (1), Scotland (1) By League: England (5), Uruguay (3), Hungary (2), Belgium (2), Sao Paulo (2), Czechoslovakia (2), Spain (2), Austria (2), Germany (1), Argentina (1), Scotland (1) 1921 Archibald, Sandy (Rangers, Scotland) Buchan, Charlie (Sunderland, England) Cevenini, Luigi (Internazionale, Italy) Cunningham, Andy (Rangers, Scotland) Ferguson, Hughie (Motherwell) Friedenreich, Arthur (Paulistano) Grimsdell, Arthur (Tottenham, England) Janda, Antonín (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Kelly, Bob (Burnley, England) Konrad, Kalman (Amateur Vienna) Kuthan, Richard (Rapid Vienna, Austria) Libonatti, Julio (Newell's Old Boys, Argentina) McMullan, Jimmy (Park Thistle, Scotland) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Orth, György (MTK, Hungary) Pešek, Karel (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Piendibene, José (Penarol, Uruguay) Schlosser, Imre (MTK, Hungary) Smith, Joe (Bolton) Tesoriere, Américo (Boca Junior, Argentina) Uridil, Josef (Rapid Vienna, Austria) Walker, Billy (Aston Villa, England) Zabaleta, Albérico (Racing) By Country: England (5), Scotland (5), Argentina (3), Hungary (3), Czechoslovakia (2), Austria (2), Uruguay (1), Brazil (1), Italy (1) By League: England (5), Scotland (5), Argentina (3), Austria (3), Hungary (2), Czechoslovakia (2), Uruguay (1), Sao Paulo (1), Italy (1) 1922 Alcántara, Paulino (Barcelona, Spain) Amilcar (Corinthians, Brazil) Beer, Richard (Vienna Sport, Austria) Bromilow, Tom (Liverpool, England) Chambers, Harry (Liverpool, England) Cringan, William (Celtic, Scotland) Dvořáček, Jan (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Fortes, Agostinho (Fluminense, Brazil) Gallacher, Patrick (Celtic, Ireland) Kalb, Hans (Nurnberg, Germany) Kolenatý, František (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Molnár, György (MTK, Hungary) Neco (Corinthians, Brazil) Orth, György (MTK, Hungary) Pešek, Karel (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Samitier, Josep (Barcelona, Spain) Scott, Elisha (Liverpool) Seoane, Manuel (Independiente) Stephenson, Clem (Huddersfield Town) Walker, Billy (Aston Villa, England) Walker, Duncan (St. Mirren) Wilson, Andy (Middlesbrough, Scotland) Zamora, Ricardo (Barcelona, Spain) By Country: England (4), Scotland (3), Czechoslovakia (3), Spain (3), Brazil (3), Hungary (2), Ireland (2), Austria (1), Argentina (1), Germany (1) By League: England (6), Scotland (3), Czechoslovakia (3), Spain (3), Hungary (2), Sao Paulo (2), Austria (1), Argentina (1), Rio de Janeiro (1), Germany (1) 1923 Amilcar (Corinthians, Brazil) Andrade, Jose Leonadro (Bella Vista, Uruguay) Braun, Jozsef (MTK, Hungary) Buchan, Charlie (Sunderland, England) Carricaberry, Alfredo (San Lorenzo) Chambers, Harry (Liverpool, England) De Vecchi, Renzo (Genoa, Italy) Jack, David (Bolton) Longworth, Ephraim (Liverpool, England) Molnár, György (MTK, Hungary) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Nasazzi, José (Bella Vista, Uruguay) Neco (Corinthians, Brazil) Orth, György (MTK, Hungary) Pešek, Karel (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Petrone, Pedro (Charley FC, Uruguay) Scarone, Héctor (Nacional, Uruguay) Scott, Elisha (Liverpool) Seddon, Jimmy (Bolton, England) Sedláček, Josef (Sparta Pague, Czechoslovakia) Tarasconi, Domingo (Boca Juniors, Argentina) Walker, Billy (Aston Villa, England) Wilson, Andy (Middlesbrough, Scotland) By Country: England (6), Uruguay (4), Hungary (3), Argentina (2), Brazil (2), Scotland (2), Czechoslovakia (2), Italy (1), Ireland (1) By League: England (8), Uruguay (4), Hungary (3), Argentina (2), Sao Paulo (2), Czechoslovakia (2), Italy (1), Scotland (1) 1924 Abegglen, Max (Grasshopper, Switzerland) Andrade, Jose Leonadro (Bella Vista, Uruguay) Braun, Jozsef (MTK, Hungary) Buchan, Charlie (Sunderland, England) Davies, Len (Cardiff City, Wales) De Vecchi, Renzo (Genoa, Italy) Denis, Harry (HBS, Netherlands) Gallacher, Hughie (Airdrieonians, Scotland) Keenor, Fred (Cardiff, Wales) Kock, Rudolf (Solna, Sweden) Konrad, Kalman (Amateur Vienna) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Nasazzi, José (Bella Vista, Uruguay) Petit, Rene (Real Union) Petrone, Pedro (Nacional, Uruguay) Ramseyer, Rudolf (Young Boys, Switzerland) Romano, Ángel (Nacional, Uruguay) Russell, Moses (Plymouth, Wales) Rydell, Sven (Örgryte, Sweden) Scarone, Héctor (Nacional, Uruguay) Stephenson, Clem (Huddersfield Town, England) Walker, Billy (Aston Villa, England) Wieser, Gustav (Amateur Vienna, Austria) By Country: Uruguay (5), England (3), Wales (3), Switzerland (2), Sweden (2), Scotland (2), Hungary (2), Austria (1), Italy (1), France (1), Netherlands (1) By League: England (6), Uruguay (5), Switzerland (2), Sweden (2), Scotland (2), Austria (2), Italy (1), Spain (1), Netherlands (1), Hungary (1) 1925 Andrade, Jose Leonadro (Nacional) Errazquin, Juan (Real Union, Spain) Friedenreich, Arthur (Paulistano, Brazil) Gallacher, Hughie (Airdrieonians, Scotland) Gamborena, Francisco (Real Union, Spain) Gillespie, Billy (Sheffield United, Ireland) Goodall, Roy (Huddersfield, England) Jack, David (Bolton) McGrory, Jimmy (Celtic) McStay, William (Celtic, Scotland) Meikljohn, David (Rangers, Scotland) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Orth, György (MTK, Hungary) Pešek, Karel (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Roberts, Frank, (Manchester City, England) Rydell, Sven (Örgryte, Sweden) Samiter, Josep (Barcelona, Spain) Scarone, Hector (Nacional) Seoane, Manuel (El Porvenir, Argentina) Tunstall, Fred (Sheffield United, England) Wadsworth, Sam (Huddersfield, England) Walker, Billy (Aston Villa, England) Zamora, Ricardo (RDC Espanol, Spain) By Country: England (6), Scotland (5), Spain (4), Uruguay (2), Czechoslovakia (1), Hungary (1), Sweden (1), Brazil (1), Argentina (1), Ireland (1) By League: England (7), Scotland (5), Spain (4), Uruguay (2), Czechoslovakia (1), Hungary (1), Sweden (1), Sao Paulo (1), Argentina (1) 1926 Andrade, Jose Leonadro (Nacional) Blum, Josef (First Vienna, Austria) Brown, George (Huddersfield Town, England) Buchan, Charlie (Arsenal) Castro, Hector (Nacional, Uruguay) Cherro, Roberto (Boca Juniors, Argentina) Fogl, Karoly (Ujpest, Hungary) Gallacher, Hughie (Newcastle, Scotland) Harder, Otto (Hamburg, Germany) Hirzer, Ferenc (Juventus) Jack, David (Bolton) Jackson, Alex (Huddersfield Town, Scotland) Kohut, Vilmos (Ferencvaros, Hungary) Konrad, Kalman (Amateur Vienna) McGrory, Jimmy (Celtic) McInally, Tommy (Celtic, Scotland) McStay, William (Celtic, Scotland) Nasazzi, José (Bella Vista, Uruguay) Orsi, Raimundo (Independiente) Samiter, Josep (Barcelona) Scarone, Hector (Nacional, Uruguay) Seoane, Manuel (Independiente) Wieser, Gustav (Amateur Vienna, Austria) By Country: Scotland (5), Uruguay (4), Hungary (4), England (3), Argentina (3), Austria (2), Germany (1), Spain (1) By League: England (5), Uruguay (4), Argentina (3), Austria (3), Scotland (3), Hungary (2), Italy (1), Spain (1), Germany (1) 1927 Baloncieri, Adolfo (Torino, Italy) Camsell, George (Middlesbrough) Carricaberry, Alfredo (San Lorenzo, Argentina) Davies, Len (Cardiff City, Wales) Dean, Dixie (Everton, England) Ferguson, Hughie (Cardiff City) Gallacher, Hughie (Newcastle, Scotland) Goodall, Roy (Huddersfield, England) Hill, Jack (Burnley, England) Kohut, Vilmos (Ferencvaros, Hungary) Kolenatý, František (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Libonatti, Julio (Torino, Italy) McGrory, Jimmy (Celtic) Monti, Luis (San Lorenzo, Argentina) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Pešek, Karel (Sparta Prague, Czechoslovakia) Petit, Rene (Real Union) Puč, Antonín (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Scarone, Hector (Nacional, Uruguay) Schall, Anton (Admira Vienna, Austria) Seoane, Manuel (Independiente, Argentina) Silny, Josef (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Tarasconi, Domingo (Boca Juniors) By Country: Argentina (5), Scotland (4), England (4), Czechoslovakia (4), Italy (1), Uruguay (1), France (1), Hungary (1), Wales (1), Austria (1) By League: England (7), Argentina (4), Czechoslovakia (4), Scotland (2), Italy (2), Uruguay (1), France (1), Hungary (1), Austria (1) 1928 Baloncieri, Adolfo (Torino, Italy) Braine, Raymond (Beerschot, Belguim) Cherro, Roberto (Boca Juniors, Argentina) Dean, Dixie (Everton, England) Ferreira, Manuel (Estudiantes, Argentina) Gestido, Álvaro (Penarol, Uruguay) Jackson, Alex (Huddersfield Town, Scotland) James, Alex (Preston North End, Scotland) Libonatti, Julio (Torino, Italy) Levratto, Virgilio (Genoa, Italy) McGrory, Jimmy (Celtic, Scotland) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Orsi, Raimundo (Independiente, Argentina) Petrone, Pedro (Nacional, Uruguay) Platko, Franz (Barcleona) Puč, Antonín (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Samiter, Josep (Barcelona) Scarone, Hector (Nacional, Uruguay) Schall, Anton (Admira Vienna, Austria) Stábile, Guillermo (Huracan) By Country: Argentina (5), Scotland (4), Uruguay (3), Hungary (3), Italy (2), Austria (2), Czechoslovakia (1), England (1), Spain (1), Belgium (1) By League: Argentina (4), England (3), Italy (3), Uruguay (3), Spain (2), Hungary (2), Scotland (2), Austria (2), Czechoslovakia (1), Belgium (1) 1929 Adcock, Hugh (Leicester, England) Avar, István (Ujpest, Hungary) Blenkinsop, Ernie (Sheffield Wednesday, England) Camsell, George (Middlesbrough, England) Evaristo, Juan (Boca Junior, Argentina) Ferreira, Manuel (Estudiantes, Argentina) Gallacher, Hughie (Newcastle, Scotland) González, Aurelio (Olimpia, Paraguay) Halliday, David (Sunderland) Horvath, Hans (Rapid Vienna, Austria) Jackson, Alex (Huddersfield Town, Scotland) Juve, Jørgen (Lyn, Norway) Leinberger, Ludwig (Furth, Germany) Meikljohn, David (Rangers, Scotland) Morton, Alan (Rangers, Scotland) Pitto, Alfredo (Bologna, Italy) Plánička, František (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Puč, Antonín (Slavia Prague, Czechoslovakia) Rossetti, Gino (Torino, Italy) Rubio, Gaspar (Real Madrid, Spain) Schiavio, Angelo (Bologna, Italy) Takács, József (Frenencvaros, Hungary) Zamora, Ricardo (RDC Espanol, Spain) By Country: Scotland (6), Italy (3), England (2), Czechoslovakia (2), Spain (2), Argentina (2), Hungary (2), Austria (1), Paraguay (1), Norway (1), Germany (1) By League: England (6), Italy (2), Scotland (2), Czechoslovakia (2), Spain (2), Argentina (2), Hungary (2), Austria (1), Paraguay (1), Norway (1), Germany (1)
My main issue with putting Orth in the top 3 that many times is his record with the national team. He was repeatedly capped less than his teammates Braun and Kertész. There is also the issue that in 1920 and 1922 the team did not preform very well. In 1920 they were 0-1-2, and in 1922 they were 2-5-1 with their only victories against Finland and Poland. They were decent in 1921 and 1923, and were shaping up to have a strong year in 1924 when they lost to Egypt in the Olympics.
Thanks for the revised list. You forgot to highlight the Top3 in 1922. Also, could you indicate the winner in your opinion in each year?