Eric George Lee (18 October 1922 – 2012) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender. He has made the fourth most

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

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 ...

, with 363 such appearances made from 1946 to 1957. He also played for Great Britain at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. Eric is father to hockey player and coach Peter John Lee.

Playing career

Lee was recruited by his hometown club of

from local

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football, becoming part of the first team during 1945–46 the final season of wartime league formats. When

action resumed in August 1946, Lee was a regular in the first team side and his performances prompted a call up for the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

amateur side against their

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

counterparts. He missed much of the following season due to his teacher training course at Loughborough College but returned to the first team ranks in 1948–49 and remained a regular in the number five shirt until his final season of 1956–57.Sumner (1997), stats section He retired at the end of the season, with his final appearance coming in a 2–0 win over

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

on 29 April 1957. Lee had enjoyed a benefit match between Chester and a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

XI at Sealand Road on 30 April 1952, and played in four

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

finals. He left the club as their

record appearance holder, subsequently beaten by

Ray Gill Ray Gill (8 December 1924, Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neig ...

, Ron Hughes and

Trevor Storton Trevor Storton (26 November 1949 – 23 March 2011) was an English footballer who played as a central defender. The early years He began his career at Tranmere Rovers, playing alongside his older brother Stan, he played over 100 games for the ...

, but remains the highest Chester-born player in the club's appearance list.

Personal life

Lee was an uncle of comedian Bob Mills. During his playing career he was also a History teacher at Chester City Grammar School, where he was known as "Sticky" Lee. Lee later emigrated to Canada, where he died in 2012.

Honours

Chester * 1945–46:

Football League Third Division North Cup The Football League Third Division North Cup was a association football, football knockout competition open to teams competing in Football League Third Division North. The competition was first held in 1933–34 Football League, 1933–34 and ran un ...

runners–up * 1946–47:

winners * 1952–53:

runners–up * 1953–54:

runners–up * 1954–55:

runners–up * 1951–52: Benefit Match

External links

Chester City history article mentioning Eric Lee

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Eric (Footballer) 1922 births Footballers from Chester 2012 deaths English Football League players English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Chester City F.C. players Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Great Britain British emigrants to Canada