Joseph Mayo (born 25 May 1952) is an English former 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 ...

who played as a striker. He began his career with Walsall but struggled to break into the first team, joining West Bromwich Albion where he won promotion to the First Division in 1976. He later played for

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, Cambridge United and

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 ...

Career

Mayo grew up in Tipton and attended the town's grammar school, but never played football at school and only took up playing as a teenager when he began playing local amateur football. He was spotted by

Ken Hodgkisson William Kenneth Hodgkisson (12 March 1933 – 10 May 2018) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion, making his professional debut in 1953 before being sold to Walsall ...

who signed him for non-league side Dudley Town. However, Mayo "never really thought about" becoming a professional footballer and had begun working as a trainee accountant at Brookhouse Steel where he made copies of ledgers. While at Dudley, Mayo had an unsuccessful trial with

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

before being offered a trial with Walsall. He appeared for the club's reserve side in the Midland Intermediate League before being offered a professional contract in September 1972, at which time he left his accounting job. He made his professional debut for Walsall and appeared in seven league matches for the club but spent the majority of his time in the reserve side. During a reserve match against West Bromwich Albion, the club he supported, Mayo scored a hat-trick which convinced West Brom manager Don Howe to sign Mayo for £17,000 in February 1973. He made his debut for the club in September 1973 as a substitute during a match against Hull City. He made over 90 appearances in all competitions for West Brom, helping the club achieve promotion to the First Division in the 1975–76 season. In March 1977, he joined

along with

Allan Glover Allan Richard Glover (born 21 October 1950) is an English retired professional footballer, best remembered for his eight years in the Football League with West Bromwich Albion. An inside forward and winger, he also played for Orient, Brent ...

in a transfer deal that saw

Laurie Cunningham Laurence Paul Cunningham (8 March 1956 – 15 July 1989) was an English professional footballer. A left winger, he notably played in England, France and Spain, where he became the first ever British player to sign for Real Madrid. Cunningham ...

move in the opposite direction. A year later, he was part of the Orient side that reached the semi-final of the FA Cup before losing to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. He joined Cambridge United in September 1981 for a fee of £100,000 where he finished his professional career in 1983.

Personal life

Following his retirement from football, Mayo moved to North Wales and took ownership of the Plas Isa Hotel in Criccieth. He later worked in the tobacco industry. In 2015, Mayo appeared on series twelve of the reality television game show, '' Coach Trip'', being named winner in the final. In 2017, he appeared on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

quiz show, '' The Chase'', and made it through to the Final Chase, but he and his remaining teammate were caught by chaser Jenny Ryan with one second remaining. He appeared in the BBC game show Letterbox in 2018 where he and his wife lost in the semi-final.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Joe 1951 births English footballers Sportspeople from Tipton West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Living people English Football League players Association football forwards