Clifford Ernest Mason (27 November 1929 – August 2013) was an English professional footballer who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

and Chesterfield in the 1950s and 1960s.

Playing career

Mason was born in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. He began his professional career at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, but never represented them in

the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

, and moved on to

in July 1952. He made 107 League appearances over three seasons, and then joined

for 1955–56, where he became captain and made 97 appearances in six seasons.

manager

Don Revie Donald George Revie (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an English footballer and manager. He is best known for managing Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, winning the Football League First Division twice and the FA Cup once, before being the Eng ...

signed Mason, aged 31, during the 1961–62 season for £10,000 as an experienced defender who was needed during a troubled season for Leeds when they were fighting relegation to the Third Division. He appeared in the last eleven games of the season and made a further 22 appearances in the next, a total of 33 League and 2 League Cup matches, before Grenville Hair regained the left back spot. Mason joined

for the 1963–64 season and joined Chesterfield for the following season. Mason died in August 2013 at the age of 83.

References

1929 births 2013 deaths Footballers from York English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Sunderland A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players English Football League players Sheffield United F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub