Michael John Mahon (born 17 September 1944) is an English former

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 lea ...

who played as a winger. He scored 57 goals in 256 league games during a six-year career in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. A former

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

and Loughborough United player, he turned professional with Port Vale in 1967. He spent two years with the club before joining York City for the 1969–70 season. Following this he spent three years with Colchester United before moving to non-League

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

in 1973, despite having been voted Colchester's Player of the Year and helping the club to win the Watney Cup. He made

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

history with the "Dons" in 1975 when he scored the winning goal to knock top-flight

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

out of the competition.

Career

Mahon started his career with

and Loughborough United before joining Port Vale as an amateur in May 1966. He became a regular in the first-team after Jackie Mudie handed him his debut at Vale Park in a 2–1 win over

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

on 20 August 1966, before losing his place in March 1967. His seven goals in 28 games in 1966–67 were enough to win him a professional

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at the Fourth Division club in April 1967. After nine goals in 24 games under Stanley Matthews in 1967–68 and six goals in 37 games under Gordon Lee in 1968–69, he was handed a free transfer to league rivals York City in May 1969. Having scored 10 goals in 29 league games under Tom Johnston in 1969–70, Mahon moved on to fellow Fourth Division club Colchester United in August 1970. He was a member of Dick Graham's team that knocked Leeds United out of the

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. He scored seven goals in 47 appearances in 1970–71, and scored 12 goals in 49 games in 1971–72, including two in the Watney Cup final victory over West Bromwich Albion. Mahon finished as the club's top scorer and Player of the Year under Jim Smith in 1972–73 with 12 goals in 48 games. He played 158 games for the "U's" in all competitions, scoring 33 goals, before joining

for a £1,500 fee in December 1973. He was a member of the Wimbledon side that beat

in the Third Round of the FA Cup in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and he scored the winning goal in their 1–0 victory. It was the first time in more than fifty years a non-League side had beaten a top-flight side away from home in the FA Cup.

Post-retirement

Once retiring from the game, Mahon became a school examination officer. During the late 1970s 1980s taught as PE teacher at Phillip Morant & St. Benedicts School,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, both a short distance from Layer Road ground.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Colchester United * Watney Cup: 1972 Wimbledon *

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

: 1974–75, 1975–76 Individual * Colchester United Player of the Year: 1973 * Colchester United Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahon, Mick 1944 births Living people Footballers from Manchester English men's footballers Men's association football wingers North Shields F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players York City F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players English Football League players