Michael John Cave (28 January 1949 – 6 November 1984) was an English

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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Born in

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third l ...

, Cave was studying engineering when he started his career in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with hometown club Weymouth in 1966. He joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in July 1968, soon settling into the

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

side. Although not a regular goalscorer (17 goals in 114 league games), when he did score they tended to be memorable. In July 1971 a fee of £15,000 took him to

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

. His first season at Dean Court was a struggle, and in March 1972 he joined

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, ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

. However, he returned to Bournemouth and eventually played 99 league games, scoring 17 goals, before a £18,000 transfer to York City in August 1974. His first season was York's first ever in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and they confounded expectations by surviving, although they were relegated the following season (with Cave winning the Clubman of the Year award). He spent the 1976 season on loan in the American Soccer League, helping the Los Angeles Skyhawks win the ASL title. In February 1977, after scoring 13 times in 96 league games for York, he returned to Bournemouth for a fee of £10,000. He spent the summer of 1977 on loan to

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

side Seattle Sounders, scoring 12 goals in 22 appearances, and joined Seattle permanently the following summer after playing the last of his 42 league games for Bournemouth, in which he had scored three times. He spent the 1978 and 1979 seasons in Seattle. He then played the 1979–80 indoor season with the

Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Spirit were an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and were one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit were founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then ret ...

in the Major Indoor Soccer League, scoring 24 goals in 27 games. In 1980, he began the season with the Sounders, but played only one game before being released. He finished the season with the Cleveland Cobras of the ASL. He then joined the

Hartford Hellions The Hartford Hellions were a soccer team based out of Hartford, Connecticut that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played from 1979 to 1981. The Hellions played their first season in the New Haven Coliseum before moving to the remo ...

for the 1980–81 MISL season, in which he made 38 appearances and scored 24 goals, before finishing his career with two seasons back at the Pittsburgh Spirit. Cave died in his home in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on 6 November 1984, aged 35, from accidental

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large e ...

(running his car in a garage). At the time he was assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Spirit of the MISL. He has since had the Player of the Year Award named after him in his honour at Bournemouth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Micky 1949 births 1984 deaths Sportspeople from Weymouth Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania Deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning English footballers Association football midfielders Weymouth F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players York City F.C. players Los Angeles Skyhawks players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Pittsburgh Spirit players Cleveland Cobras players Hartford Hellions players English Football League players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches English football managers