Mickey Lill (3 August 1936 – October 2004) was an English

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 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 ...

for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

, Everton,

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Career

He began as a trainee at London non-league club Storey Athletic before being spotted by

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. However, he left for then-Champions

in 1954 still as an apprentice. The winger made his first team debut on 7 December 1957, scoring in a 2–1 win at

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

. However, he did not feature again that season as Wolves won the league title for a second time. He really broke through at Molineux in the following campaign as the club successfully retained the League Championship, making 18 appearances and scoring 12 goals. Their league triumph gave Lill the chance to appear in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

during the 1959–60 season, but he still found himself on the sidelines often and left for Everton in early 1960. He played for two full seasons at Everton as the club twice finished in the top five. He was sold in the summer of 1962 to

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. After less than a season with ''the Pilgrims'', he moved along the South coast to fellow second-tier club

in March 1963. After a little over two seasons at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

, followed by one season in the Southern League with

Guildford City Guildford City Football Club (formerly Guildford United and AFC Guildford) is a football club based in Guildford, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1921, folded in 1974 and was reformed in 1996. Guildford City play in the . History ...

, Lill left English football in May 1966 to join Germiston Callies in South Africa. He soon became manager/coach of the club after retiring from playing for the period 1968 to 1973. He left Callies to manage Jewish Guild (based in Johannesburg). He eventually worked as a PE teacher at Sacred Heart College, Observatory, just outside central Johannesburg. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in October 2004, aged 68.

References

Mickey Lill
Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Lill, Mickey 1936 births 2004 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Havering People from Romford English men's footballers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Everton F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players Germiston Callies F.C. players Jewish Guild players Rangers F.C. (South Africa) players English Football League players Deaths from cancer in South Africa English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Men's association football wingers 20th-century English sportsmen