Zach March
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{use British English|date=August 2018}}
{{use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Zach March
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = George Zillwood March{{cite web |url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=LRhAxZ2Xp%2FzGeFPa6B%2BtQw&scan=1 |title=Index entry |website=FreeBMD |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=20 August 2018}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1892|10|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bosham, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1994|9|18|1892|10|25|df=y}}
| death_place = Bognor Regis, England
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=8}}
| position = Outside left
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 19??–1913 | clubs1 = Bosham
| years2 = 1913–1922 | clubs2 = Brighton & Hove Albion | caps2 = 85 | goals2 = 6
| years3 = 1922–1923 | clubs3 = Portsmouth | caps3 = 4 | goals3 = 0
| years4 = 1923–192? | clubs4 = Chichester City
}}
George Zillwood March (25 October 1892 – 18 September 1994), commonly known as Zach March, was an English professional footballer who made 89 appearances in the Football League playing as an outside forward for Brighton & Hove Albion and Portsmouth.{{cite book |last=Joyce |first=Michael |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |publisher=SoccerData |location=Nottingham |date=2004 |page=176 |isbn=978-1-899468-67-6}}
Life and career
March was born in Bosham, Sussex, in 1892. He played football for his hometown team before joining Southern League club Brighton & Hove Albion in 1913, initially on amateur terms. When Albion manager Jack Robson took over at Manchester United, March turned down the chance to accompany him, preferring to remain working in the family building firm. He scored 6 goals from 29 Southern League appearances either side of the First World War (during which he served in the Royal Sussex Regiment) and made 56 Football League appearances for Brighton after their admission to the newly formed Third Division in 1920. Two years later, he joined Portsmouth, but played little, and was released at the end of the season. He then captained Sussex County League club Chichester City to victory in the Sussex Senior Cup in 1926. After retiring from football, he returned to the building trade.{{cite book |first1=Tim |last1=Carder |first2=Roger |last2=Harris |title=Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. |publisher=Goldstone Books |location=Hove |date=1997 |pages=162–163 |isbn=978-0-9521337-1-1}}
Interviewed by the Daily Express on his 100th birthday, by which time he was the oldest surviving former Football League player, March said he would have been a better player today than in the 1920s because of more flexible boots, a lighter ball, and the increased positional freedom allowed in the modern game.{{cite news |url=https://thegoldstonewrap.com/2013/12/28/zillwood-march-oldest-winger-in-town/ |title=Zillwood March – oldest winger in town |first=Barry |last=Flatman |newspaper=Daily Express |location=London |date=26 October 1992 |via=The Goldstone Wrap |access-date=19 April 2018}} He died in a Bognor Regis care home in 1994, a month short of his 102nd birthday.
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:March, Zach}}
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football outside forwards
Category:Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Category:Portsmouth F.C. players
Category:Chichester City F.C. players
Category:Southern Football League players
Category:English Football League players
Category:Military personnel from West Sussex
Category:Royal Sussex Regiment soldiers
Category:British Army personnel of World War I