Arthur Fitzsimons (16 December 1929 – 9 May 2018) was an Irish professional footballer player and manager. An inside forward, he notably made over 200 appearances for Middlesbrough.

Career

Originally from Penrose Street, in the shadow of

Shelbourne Park Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend. Greyhound Racing Opening The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Jim ...

, the stadium named after Shelbourne F.C. ("the Shels", or "the Reds"), their then home ground, Arthur signed with 'the Shels' from the famous schoolboy nursery club, Johnville F.C. Already well known for his talent at junior level, the scouts were anxious to see how he would perform at this higher level. So well did he perform with 'the Reds', that it is almost forgotten he played for them only one season, 194849, before being transferred over the water. But it was no coincidence that that season was one of the best in the club's history, being in contention until the last match in all four available competitions, finally winning two of them, and finishing runner-up in the others. At the end of the season, he was part of a two-player deal when transferred (with

Peter Desmond Peter Desmond (23 November 1926 in Cork, Ireland – July 1990) was an Irish footballer. Desmond played for several clubs in the League of Ireland and the English League. As an international, Desmond also played for Ireland. Desmond made all ...

) to Middlesbrough F.C. in the English First Division. He went on to play in 223 games, scoring 49 goals. His teammates included Brian Clough and Wilf Mannion. In the 1960s, his coaching career took him to Libya, where he spent five and a half years in Tripoli until Colonel Gaddafi came to power, when he was advised to leave. In August 1967, he signed for

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

as player-coach, a position he shared with Theo Dunne. In April 1969, his contract was terminated. In June 1969, he was appointed manager of

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 ...

, taking over from Liam Tuohy. Despite beating

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

in a 1969-70 European Cup Winners' Cup first leg tie, he was fired two months later. He also played 26 times for the Republic of Ireland national team, scoring 7 goals.

Later life and death

In 2009, Fitzsimons was inducted into the Football Association of Ireland Hall of Fame. He died aged 88 on 9 May 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimons, Arthur 1929 births 2018 deaths Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Ireland (FAI) international footballers Association football forwards Shelbourne F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland managers Drogheda United F.C. managers Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers League of Ireland XI managers Dublin University A.F.C. coaches Republic of Ireland football managers Association football coaches Republic of Ireland expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Libya Expatriate sportspeople in Libya