Alan Groves (24 October 1948 – 15 June 1978) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He played as a midfielder. Groves joined hometown club Southport from Blowick in December 1968 and went on to play for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, transferring for a £3,000 fee in 1971 to Shrewsbury Town.Late report of his death when he had left Shropshire. In October 1972 he was sold for £40,000 to

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

, for whom he played a year before beginning a long spell with Oldham Athletic in February 1974. According to

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...

, Groves was not happy with the move, and during a match against Bournemouth after scoring a goal, Groves dribbled the ball to the Bournemouth dugout and kicked the ball at

Trevor Hartley Trevor Hartley (born 16 March 1947) is an English former footballer with West Ham United and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and football manager with AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur. Biography Footballing career Trevor Hartley was born ...

, the manager who had sold him. He made 140

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

appearances for ''the Latics'' until he moved to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in November 1977, for £30,000. He made his League debut for the club on 26 November 1977, when Blackpool beat

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

2–1. After his first three games he was convinced that he made the best move of his football career, commenting: "Two away wins in three weeks, it's unbelievable. That's as many as we got in two years at Oldham Athletic. Blackpool have some tremendous players, really skilful. I fancy Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur to go up, but if we play like we did at Mansfield Town, we can make it tough for both of them."

Personal life

On 5 August 1977, while he was playing for Oldham, Groves married Debbie, daughter of Harold Huxley, when she was then aged 16 (already school leaving age in England). This led to a prosecution by local education authorities who insisted her birthday came too late for her to finish studies, for she quit school immediately after the wedding to keep house for Alan. Her father was ultimately fined £5 for failing to send his daughter to school.Early report of his death.

Death

Groves had played eleven League games, plus four as substitute, scored one goal, and played in an FA Cup tie for Blackpool before he died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on 15 June 1978, aged 29. A reputedly very fit player who had had no problems during training, he was taken ill at home in Royton but despite attempts to resuscitate him he was dead on arrival at Oldham Royal Infirmary.

References

;Specific ;General
Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database profile's statistics site
1948 births 1978 deaths English footballers Footballers from Oldham Southport F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players English Football League players People from Royton Footballers from Southport Association football midfielders {{England-footy-midfielder-1940s-stub