Michael John Block (28 January 1940 – 12 December 2019) was an English professional

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

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He made nearly 200

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 ...

appearances for Chelsea,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

over a 10-year period.

Career

Born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, Block began his career with the youth team at

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club Chelsea and played in both legs of the 1958 FA Youth Cup Final. Block progressed to the Chelsea first team and made 40 appearances and scored six goals between 1957 and 1962. Block left Chelsea for

for £5,000 in January 1962. While with Brentford, he was the provider of assists for many goals scored by the club's all-international frontline of Johnny Brooks,

Billy McAdams William John McAdams (20 January 1934 – 13 October 2002) was a Northern Irish footballer who played in the inside forward position. Club career On leaving school at 15, he took an apprenticeship as a heating engineer and played as an amateur ...

and John Dick. He later played for

, before dropping into

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with Chelmsford City in 1967.

Career statistics

Honours

Brentford *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

: 1962–63 *

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a association football, football tournament formerly organised by the London Football Association, London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974 ...

: 1964–65 Individual * Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year: 1962–63

References

1940 births English men's footballers Chelsea F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Watford F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football wingers England men's youth international footballers 2019 deaths Footballers from Ipswich 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-midfielder-1940s-stub