Kevin Francis Tully (born 18 December 1952) is an English former

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 ...

. A left winger, he made 164 league appearances in a nine-year career 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 ...

. He began his career with non-League

Prestwich Heys Prestwich Heys A.F.C. is a semi-professional football club based in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England. Heys run one senior side competing in the . Heys now have a Youth Team formed in the 2020–21 season ran by Nick Simister. League ...

, before signing with

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 1972. He transferred to Cambridge United the following year, before joining Crewe Alexandra in 1975. After three seasons with the "Railwaymen" he was traded to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in a player-exchange deal in October 1978. He left the club in February 1980, and then joined

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

via

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

, before heading into non-League football with

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 ...

and

Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...

in 1981.

Career

Tully began his career with

. In 1972, he joined a then-

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

less

, for whom he went on to make eleven Second Division appearances. He made his debut for the club on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

, in a 2–1 defeat at Lancashire neighbours Burnley, and went on to make a further four starts and one substitute appearance before the end of the 1972–73 campaign. Under

Harry Potts Harold Potts (22 October 1920 – 16 January 1996) was an English football player and manager. As a player he won promotion with both Burnley and Everton, and both from Second Division. As Burnley manager, he guided them to the First Division ...

, who was installed as manager at Bloomfield Road in the latter stages of the previous season, Tully started the first five league games of 1973–74, before leaving to join Cambridge United. United were relegated out of the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

at the end of the season under the management of

Bill Leivers William Ernest Leivers (born 29 January 1932) is an English retired professional footballer and football manager. Playing career Leivers was born in Bolsover, Derbyshire. He attended school at Tupton Hall, alongside Labour MP Dennis Skinner. He ...

. Ron Atkinson then took charge at Abbey Stadium, and the club went on to finish sixth in the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

in 1974–75, just two places and three points behind the promotion places. Tully joined Crewe Alexandra for the 1975–76 campaign, as the "Railwaymen" finished just three points above the

's re-election zone. Crewe rose to 12th in 1976–77 and then 15th in 1977–78 under the stewardship of

Harry Gregg Henry Gregg, (27 October 1932 – 16 February 2020), was a Northern Irish professional footballer and manager. A goalkeeper, he played for Manchester United during the reign of Sir Matt Busby, with a total of 247 appearances for the club. He w ...

. He left Gresty Road soon after

Warwick Rimmer Warwick Rimmer (born 1 March 1941) is an English former professional football player and coach. In a playing career which lasted from 1960 to 1979, Rimmer made nearly 600 professional league appearances for Bolton Wanderers and Crewe Alexandra ...

was appointed manager, and joined

Dennis Butler Dennis Anthony Butler (born 24 June 1944) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a winger for Bolton Wanderers between 1959 and 1968, before ending his playing career following a five-year spell at Rochdale. Later wor ...

in exchange for Neil Wilkinson and £3,000 in October 1978. He featured nine times in 1978–79, scoring once in a 3–0 win over Halifax Town on 14 October. He played just seven games for the "Valiants" in 1979–80, before having his contract cancelled at Vale Park "by mutual consent" by new boss John McGrath in February 1980. He moved into

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footba ...

football with

, before returning to the Fourth Division with Jim Iley's

in 1980–81. He played ten games for the "Shakers" before leaving Gigg Lane and returning to the non-League scene with

( Alliance Premier League) and

(

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

). He made nine starts and three substitute appearances for Witton in the 1983–84 season and featured three times in the 1984–85 campaign.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, Kevin 1952 births Living people Footballers from Manchester English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Prestwich Heys A.F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Chorley F.C. players Bury F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players