Chris Lawler (born 20 October 1943) is a former footballer who enjoyed much of Liverpool's success of the mid 1960s to early 1970s.

Life and playing career

A right-sided defender, Lawler joined his local club when he turned 17 in October 1960, and made his debut at the age of 19 in a 2–2 league draw with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

on 20 March 1963. For two seasons his progression into first team regular was gradual, playing just 6 matches in each of the seasons, but by 1965 he was the first choice right back. He scored the first of his many goals (for a right-back) during that season in a 5–1 defeat of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

at Turf Moor on 5 December 1964. Lawler's timing and anticipation, enabling him to turn up in the right place at the right time to score vital goals, earned him the nickname 'The Silent Knight'. The 1964–5 season culminated in him being selected in the team which beat Leeds United in 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 ...

final at

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, winning the trophy for the first time in the club's history. Lawler missed just three games in the next seven seasons. During this period, he helped Liverpool win the League championship in 1966, ahead of Leeds by six points (in the old two points for a win system). This was followed by Liverpool being beaten 2–1 by

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

in the Cup Winners Cup at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

, Glasgow, in the Reds' first ever appearance in a major European final. Lawler was an automatic starter on the team that finished second to Leeds for the 1968-69 league championship. He survived manager

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 ...

's massive cull of 1970 which saw many of the older 1960s stars replaced by younger talent; this was perhaps due to Lawler being only 26 years-old at the time and hence younger than many who did get culled. Other than Lawler, only Emlyn Hughes, Ian Callaghan and Tommy Smith were retained. Lawler again tasted defeat when he played in the 1971 FA Cup final loss to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Liverpool won a League title and

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

double in 1973. Liverpool finished three points ahead of Arsenal in the league, while in the UEFA Cup final Liverpool defeated

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

3–2 on aggregate (won the first leg 3–0 at Anfield, lost the second leg 0–2 in West Germany). It was during this period that Lawler won his four

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

caps. He scored on his debut, in the 5–0 defeat of

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in a UEFA European Football Championship qualifier at Wembley on 12 May 1971. He was on the bench, after a spell out injured, as Liverpool reached the FA Cup final again in 1974. As the 12th man, he received a winner's medal when Liverpool beat

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

3–0, but he did not see any action. Bill Shankly's sudden departure from the club in the summer of 1974 marked the downturn of Lawler's Liverpool career, in addition to an injury suffered against Queens Park Rangers in 1973. New manager

Bob Paisley Robert Paisley OBE (23 January 1919 – 14 February 1996) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded, due to his achievements with the club, ...

purchased specialist right back Phil Neal from Northampton Town at the end of the year, and thereafter Lawler played only sporadically. He made his final Liverpool appearance against Hibernian in a UEFA Cup tie on 17 September 1975. Lawler joined

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 October '75, who were managed by former Liverpool teammate

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key mem ...

. Lawler later joined Stockport County in 1978. He also played for Welsh League side Bangor City. In 1976, he played the summer on loan to the

Miami Toros The Miami Toros was a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League from 1972 to 1976. The club was founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, and moved to Miami, where they played the 1972 season in the NASL's Southern Division as ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. In 1980–81 Chris Lawler played and coached second-level club Raufoss I.L. in the Norwegian league system. Lawler became a coach at Liverpool FC after his playing days were over until he was acrimoniously released from his duties in 1986. Rumours about something involving his release and the man who replaced him – Phil Thompson, surfaced at the time. Lawler has kept a low profile since then, though has done some work for Liverpool, scouting for players. He also works in Skelmersdale, coaching young children. Lawler was voted in at No.51 in the

100 Players Who Shook The Kop Liverpool Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who currently play in the Premier League. They have played at their current home ground, Anfield, since their foundation in 1892. Liv ...

poll on the Liverpool FC Club website.

Honours

''*'' Liverpool F.C (1960–1975) – 549 appearances, 61 goals *

Football League First Division 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 ...

: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1972–73 *

: 1964–65, 1973–74 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

(shared),

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

(shared),

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

: 1972–73 *F.A Cup runners-up medal (1971) * European Cup Winners' Cup runners-up medal (1966) *Charity shield runners-up medal (1971) *1st division Runners up 1968–69 ''*'' England (1971) 4 caps, 1 goal

References

External links

Thisisanfield.com Forgotten Heroes
*
LFChistory.net profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawler, Chris 1943 births Living people English footballers English expatriate footballers England international footballers England under-23 international footballers Association football fullbacks Liverpool F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff Raufoss IL players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Miami Toros players Expatriate footballers in Norway Footballers from Liverpool English Football League players English Football League representative players Expatriate soccer players in the United States UEFA Cup winning players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in Norway FA Cup Final players