Samuel Edward Campbell Chapman (16 February 1938 – 24 July 2019)
was a
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
international
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 ...
and
football manager
''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...
.
Career
A former youth player with
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 ...
, Chapman signed for
Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882.
History
Early history
In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
upon returning to Northern Ireland. In the summer of 1955, he moved to
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, but by October had signed for
Glenavon. In July 1956 Chapman joined
Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...
.
In October 1956 he moved to
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 ...
without having played a game for the Hoops. He moved to
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
in February 1958. He re-joined Mansfield Town in December 1961.
Having last played professionally in 1963, Chapman was banned from football following
a bribes scandal two years later.
The ban signalled the end of Chapman's playing career, although he played a few games for South African club East Rand United. (The ban was ignored by the Apartheid-era South African federation which had been suspended by FIFA.) He eventually returned to the game as a coach with
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
and then
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
. He then served
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
as chief scout, becoming interim manager following the dismissal of
Tommy Docherty
Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times betwe ...
on 4 July 1985 after a second successive relegation saw Wolves fall into the
Third Division. He remained in charge of the first team until
Bill McGarry
William Harry McGarry (10 June 1927 – 15 March 2005) was an England international association footballer and manager who spent 40 years in the professional game. He had a reputation for toughness, both as a player and as a manager.
A right- ...
(previously manager of Wolves from 1968 to 1976) returned to manage the club on 4 September 1985. However, McGarry's return as manager lasted just 61 days and he quit on 4 November and Chapman was restored to the manager's seat. However, he was unable to prevent Wolves from suffering a third successive relegation which dragged them into the
Fourth Division for the first time in their history. He left on 15 August 1986, just before the start of the
1986-87 season.
Chapman was a member of Northern Ireland's
1958 FIFA World Cup squad (though not one of the 17 players that travelled).
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Sammy
1938 births
2019 deaths
1958 FIFA World Cup players
Association football midfielders
Association footballers from Northern Ireland
Football managers from Northern Ireland
Glenavon F.C. players
League of Ireland players
Mansfield Town F.C. players
Northern Ireland B international footballers
Northern Ireland amateur international footballers
Portsmouth F.C. players
Shamrock Rovers F.C. players
Association footballers from Belfast
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers
Sportspeople involved in betting scandals
Sportspeople convicted of crimes
Crusaders F.C. players
Glentoran F.C. players