Stuart William Boam (born 28 January 1948) is an English retired

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

who is probably best known for his eight-year spell with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. Boam grew up in

Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. The Head Offices of Ashfield Distr ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, and began his career at his local club

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

where he signed a professional contract in July 1966, and made his first-team debut against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

on 12 May 1967, the final day of the 1966–67 season. The following season, 19-year-old Boam established himself as a regular in the heart of Mansfield's defence, and was ever-present in the team in both the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons. On 26 February 1969, he was a member of the Mansfield team that made national headlines with a shock 3–0 win against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in the fifth 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 ...

. Boam's consistent performances for Mansfield eventually caught the eye of bigger clubs, and in June 1971 he was sold to Middlesbrough for £50,000. He was immediately placed in Boro's starting lineup, and was named

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

ahead of the 1973–74 season, when Middlesbrough won 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 ...

title. In eight years at Ayresome Park, Boam played nearly 400 games for Middlesbrough, and was rarely out of the side. His association with Middlesbrough came to an end in August 1979, when he was sold to North East rivals Newcastle United for £170,000. In July 1981, Boam returned to Mansfield, where he was named player-manager. However, a back injury restricted his playing role to a handful of appearances, and as manager he failed to get the expected results, finishing fifth from bottom of

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

in his only full season in charge. He was sacked as manager in January 1983, and finished his career with a short spell at

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

. He found relative fame being mentioned in the Half Man Half Biscuit song 'Bladderwrack Allowance'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boam, Stuart 1948 births Living people English footballers English football managers Mansfield Town F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. managers People from Kirkby-in-Ashfield Footballers from Nottinghamshire Association football central defenders