Michael John Sinclair (13 October 1938 – 12 May 2017) 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

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in the Football League for Grimsby Town and Irish League for Ards F.C. Mike, who was related to Alec Hall (Grimsby Town's

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

team), played in Ronald Humpston's Grimsby Town colts and juniors teams during the managerial reigns of

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish football player and manager, who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool. Shankly brought success to Liverpool, gaining promotion to the First Division and winnin ...

, Elemér Berkessy, and Billy Walsh; and represented the Lincolnshire County FA in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

from 1954 to 1956. He made his

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 ...

debut on 26 April 1958 in a

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

home fixture versus Bristol Rovers. Mike, who was an apprentice motor fitter, was Grimsby Town Reserves' top goalscorer in the Midland League during the 1957-58 season with 21 goals. Grimsby Town manager Allenby Chilton rewarded him with his full debut where he replaced striker Tommy Briggs. Grimsby won 3-2 with Mike scoring the first goal and setting up the winner for Ron Rafferty. Mike made no league appearances during the 1958-1959 season, which saw Grimsby relegated to Division Three and the departure of manager Allenby Chilton, but scored the winning goal for Grimsby Town "A" team versus Grimsby Borough Police in the final of the Lincolnshire League Challenge Cup. He returned to the first-team during the 1959-1960 season under the caretaker management of first-team trainer Bill Lampton; making three appearances, all in away fixtures. Mike was selected to make his 4th league appearance of the season in October 1959 for a home fixture versus QPR but was injured working for S.P. Commercials in Grimsby. He was sidelined from football for a number of months. Mike signed full-time as a professional footballer under manager Tim Ward and played his final games for Grimsby Town in September 1960 in a Division Three home win versus

Reading United Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus of ...

and an away draw versus

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

. He was called up for National Service, the final intake of men before the UK scheme was scrapped in 1960, and was posted to Northern Ireland for two years. He made his Irish League debut for

Ards F.C. Ards Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Championship. The club is based in Newtownards, but plays its home matches at Clandeboye Park in Bangor, which it rents from rivals Bangor to play home ...

under manager Tommy Ewing on 25 April 1961 in a home fixture versus Bangor F.C. Ards won 4-2 with Mike scoring on his debut. Grimsby Town had agreed loan terms with Ards in a season that saw them finish 3rd in the league behind champions Linfield.

Jackie Scott John "Jackie" Scott (22 December 1933 – June 1978), also known as Jack Scott or Johnny Scott, was a former Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager who played as an outside forward for Manchester United, Grimsby Town and ...

(Johnny), who played for Grimsby Town,

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and Northern Ireland, had recommended Mike to Ards. Mike won a British Army athletics title (Northern Ireland) in 1961 and was de-mobbed in 1962. He returned to his trade and played football and cricket for Ross Group in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, throughout the 1960s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Mike 1938 births 2017 deaths Footballers from Grimsby English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Grimsby Town F.C. players English Football League players Ards F.C. players