Michael Kearns (born 26 November 1950) is a 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 ...

and Republic of Ireland international

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, who was the Community Director at

Walsall Football Club Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects ...

until his retirement in 2014.

Career

Born in

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, he qualified to play for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

through his

Irish ancestry The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

and went on to represent his country 19 times. A

, his international debut at the age of 19 was on 6 May 1970 as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He made his 19th and final international appearance on 21 November 1979 in a 1–0 defeat against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Kearns began his club career at

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 ...

and went on to make 67 appearances between 1969 and 1972. After loan stints at

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

and

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, Kearns joined West Midlands club

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

where he spent the majority of his career and made 249 appearances between 1973 and 1979. After a short two-year spell with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, Mick returned to Walsall to close out his career, making a further 26 appearances between 1982 and 1985 before retiring aged 35. Kearns then went on to take up the post of Community Director at

until his retirement in 2014.

Personal life

Mick's younger brother

Ollie Kearns Oliver Anthony Kearns (born 12 June 1956) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Reading, Oxford United, Walsall, Hereford United and Wrexham during the 1970s and 1980s. He scored the first goal for the newly forme ...

was also a successful professional footballer, but as a goal scorer not keeper. He enjoyed a high-scoring League career throughout the 1970s and 1980s with Reading, Walsall, Hereford and Wrexham; then scored the newly founded Rushden & Diamonds' first-ever goal. As of 2015, Kearns still lives local to the Walsall area in Aldridge.

References

External links

Newcastle Fans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearns, Mick 1950 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Oxford United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Sportspeople from Banbury Footballers from Oxfordshire

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links