Michael John Harrison (18 April 1940 – 27 January 2019) was an English 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

left winger 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 ...

. Harrison made over 250 appearances 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 ...

for four clubs over a thirteen-year period.

Career

Born in Ilford, Harrison began his career with the youth team of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, appearing in the Final of the 1957–58 FA Youth Cup. He made his senior debut in 1957, at the age of 16. He made 61 league appearances for Chelsea, and also played for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

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

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

, where he made 160, 15 and 31 appearances respectively, before dropping out to play non-league football with Dover Town. Harrison represented England Schools, and also played for the England under-23 team.

Later life and death

After retiring from football, Harrison worked as an insurance salesman and for a medical company in the West Country. Harrison died on 27 January 2019, aged 78, at a care home in Spain.

References

1940 births 2019 deaths English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Chelsea F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Dover F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football wingers Footballers from the London Borough of Redbridge People from Ilford {{England-footy-midfielder-1940s-stub