Michael James Gibson (born

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, 15 July 1939) 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 ...

. He played for

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

and Gillingham between 1960 and 1974 making over 480

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 ...

appearances in the years since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Career

Mike Gibson played for the

England Youth England national under-18 football team, also known as England under-18s or England U18(s), represents England in association football at under-18 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England ...

Sammy Crooks Samuel Dickinson Crooks (16 January 1908 – 3 February 1981) was an English footballer who played as outside forward or outside right for Derby County in the mid-war era. He was one of the best-known footballers of the 1920s and 1930s and was c ...

the former England player signed Gibson for

Gresley Rovers Gresley Rovers Football Club is an English association football, football club from Church Gresley, South Derbyshire. Gresley is a member of the and plays home games at the Moat Ground. They were known as Gresley Rovers until 2009, when they we ...

. The development of his career owes much to Crooks who recommended Gibson to his former teammate Angus Morrison at

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

. Mike Gibson left Nuneaton Borough to join

in March 1960 helping them to reach the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

semi finals in 1960-61. Fred Ford signed Gibson from Shrewsbury Town for £6,000 for

in April 1963. Mike Gibson helped Bristol City reach the

semi finals in 1970-71. Mike Gibson moved to Gillingham in July 1972 and starred in their promotion success in 1973-74. A shoulder injury ended Mike Gibson's playing career after which he returned to Bristol as a postman. He has assisted Bristol City as goalkeeping coach at Ashton Gate for many years.

References

1939 births Living people English footballers Gresley Rovers F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Footballers from Derby Men's association football goalkeepers British postmen {{england-footy-goalkeeper-stub