Gerard Patrick Mannion (21 December 1939 – 15 June 1994) was an English footballer, who played in the

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 ...

for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Norwich City and

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 ...

Career

Mannion joined First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers as a youngster, signing professional forms in November 1957. He spent his early professional days in the reserves before finally making his senior debut in the 1958 Charity Shield where Wolves went down 4–1 at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. The 1959–60 season saw his strongest run of games in a Wolves shirt as he made 10 consecutive appearances in the final run-in. Despite scoring six times in this spell, the club lost out on a third successive league title by a single point to Burnley, denying them a domestic double. He was limited to just 21 appearances in total for the Molineux club, largely due to the presence of Norman Deeley on the wing. With playing opportunities limited, he moved to Norwich City in September 1961, for £13,000. Mannion made 100 league appearances for the ''Canaries'' in six and a half years in the Second Division. He scored 17 league goals for the club and played in both legs of their 1962 League Cup triumph. The winger eventually left to join

in January 1968 but spent just five months there before dropping into the non-league with Kidderminster Harriers. He died on 15 June 1994, aged 54.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mannion, Gerry 1939 births 1994 deaths Footballers from Warrington English men's footballers English Football League players England men's under-23 international footballers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Men's association football wingers