Mark William Ward (born 10 October 1962) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former

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 ...

Playing career

Ward was born in Huyton,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, on 10 October 1962, the second eldest of seven children born to Billy and Irene Ward. His father's family originated from

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

in Ireland. His father was a casual labourer and an accomplished sportsman, and had played reserve team football for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the 1953–54 season. Ward was spotted by Everton at an early age, and joined the club's youth team before signing schoolboy forms in 1977. He then signed apprentice forms in 1979. He developed sciatica, but recovered and managed to score the winning goal against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

in the final of the under-19 youth tournament in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

; he was also voted as the player-of-the-tournament. His success in the competition won him a professional contract with Everton. However, he was released without ever playing a first team game at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

after manager Gordon Lee told him he was too small to play top-flight football; Lee was sacked by Everton just hours after releasing Ward. Ward signed a two-year contract with

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

of the Alliance Premier League after impressing in a trial game, and the club also found him a job in a bakery. He established himself in the first team and scored the winning goal against

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 ...

side Chester City in the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

Drill Field The Drill Field was a football stadium in Northwich, Cheshire, which was the home ground of Northwich Victoria Football Club between 1875 and 3 May 2002. At the time it was closed, it was believed to have been the oldest football ground in ...

in the 1982–83 season. He also scored the winning goal past

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

in the semi-finals of the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

, to book John King's "Vics" a place at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. They lost 2–1 to Telford United in the final, and Ward spent most of the game as little more than a spectator after being taken out by left-back Tony Turner in the opening stages of the match. He signed with

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 ...

club Oldham Athletic, with manager Joe Royle authorising an initial £9,500 transfer fee that would rise to £34,500 after Ward played 25 games for Oldham. He made his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion at Boundary Park on the opening day of the 1983–84 season on 27 August and scored the only goal of the game with a diving header. He went on to feature in the "Latics" every game of the 1983–84 and 1984–85 seasons, scoring 12 goals in 92 league and cup appearances. Ward was signed by West Ham United manager

John Lyall John Angus Lyall (24 February 1940 – 18 April 2006) was an English footballer and manager primarily known for his 34 years at West Ham United. He played for the club as a youth, then as a first-team player before injury cut short his career. ...

for a £250,000 fee in August 1985. He was signed to replace

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

, who had been sold to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

for £400,000 earlier in the summer. He was ever-present on the right wing in his first season, as they finished third in the First Division. However, in subsequent seasons, star strikers

Frank McAvennie Francis McAvennie (born 22 November 1959) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a striker for St Mirren, West Ham United and Celtic, having had two spells with each of these clubs. With Celtic he won the Scottish Premier Division in ...

and Tony Cottee left and West Ham were relegated at the end of 1988–89. In December 1989, Ward signed for newly promoted

Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The tw ...

, who had just appointed Howard Kendall as manager after falling into the relegation zone. Ian Bishop and

Trevor Morley Trevor William Morley (born 20 March 1961) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and pundit. As a player, he was a striker who notably played top flight football for Manchester City and West Ham United. He also playe ...

signed for West Ham in exchange. Bizarrely, Ward's first six games for City included four against Millwall. City beat them in the league on 30 December 1989 but drew twice with them in the FA Cup before losing the second replay on 15 January 1990. City rose to finish 14th, with Ward scoring his first three goals for City in consecutive games in April. Playing mainly on the left wing, Ward only missed two games in 1990–91, scoring 13 league and cup goals as City finished fifth. He scored both goals when City beat Sheffield United in the league on 19 January 1991, and then repeated the feat three days later to knock Sheffield United out of the Full Members Cup. In the summer of 1991, he signed for Everton, rejoining Kendall who had moved in November 1990. Ward stayed for three seasons before moving down the divisions to play for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

(where he was a player-coach), Huddersfield Town, Ayr United,

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Valur Valur may refer to: People * Birkir Valur Jónsson (born 1998), Icelandic football player * Björn Valur Gíslason (born 1959), Icelandic politician * Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson (born 1979), Icelandic handball player * Guðni Valur Guðnason (born ...

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

, and Leigh RMI. Whilst at Birmingham he was part of the side that won the

1995 Football League Trophy Final The 1995 Football League Trophy Final (known as the Auto Windscreens Shields Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from the Second and Third Division of the Football League. The ma ...

Imprisonment

After the end of his football career, he became involved in the supply of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

in Liverpool. He was arrested after of cocaine were found during a raid at a house in Prescot, Merseyside, in May 2005. In October 2005, he was jailed for eight years. He was released from

HM Prison Kirkham HM Prison Kirkham is a Category D men's prison, located southwest of Kirkham in Lancashire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History RAF Kirkham The prison's location was originally the site of RAF Kirkham, whic ...

in May 2009, having served four years in Kirkham and in

HM Prison Liverpool HM Prison Liverpool (formerly Walton Gaol) is a category B local men's prison in Walton, Liverpool, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Liverpool Prison (originally known as Walton Gaol) was constructed between 18 ...

Personal life

Ward married Jane Spruce in January 1983. They have one daughter.

Statistics

Source:

Honours

;Individual *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: 1994–95 ;with Northwich Victoria *

runner-up:

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

;with Birmingham City *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

winner:

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

References

General * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Mark 1962 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English people of Irish descent English footballers England semi-pro international footballers Association football wingers Everton F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Valur (men's football) players Altrincham F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate footballers in Iceland National League (English football) players English Football League players Premier League players Scottish Football League players Úrvalsdeild karla (football) players Northern Premier League players English football managers Altrincham F.C. managers Northern Premier League managers English people convicted of drug offences 21st-century English criminals Sportspeople convicted of crimes