Mike Metcalf (24 May 1939 – 26 December 2018) was an English professional footballer who made more than 300 appearances 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

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. Metcalf began his career with Everton, before joining

as a part-timer in May 1957 to allow him to complete a degree course in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

.''Where are they now?'', Chester City v. Stockport County matchday programme; 19/9/1992; p 20 Over the next six years he scored 58 times in 121 league games for Wrexham before switching to local rivals

for £5,000 in December 1963. The following season saw Chester score 141 in Fourth Division,

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 ...

and

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

matches, with Metcalf netting 37 of them.Sumner (1997), stats section (64–65) His fellow forwards

Jimmy Humes Jimmy Humes (born 6 August 1942) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He played in The Football League for four clubs. Playing career Humes began his career with Preston North End, making his debut aged 17 in a ...

Elfed Morris Elfed Morris (9 June 1942 – 4 November 2013) was a Welsh professional footballer. He played in the English Football League for Wrexham, Chester and Halifax Town. Playing career The nephew of former Wrexham manager Billy Morris, Elfed joined ...

, Hugh Ryden and

Gary Talbot Gary Talbot (15 December 1937 – 22 December 2019) was a professional footballer in the 1960s with Chester, where he set a record as the second highest Football League goalscorer, and Crewe Alexandra. He also worked as a photographer. Playing ...

also all scored at least 20 goals during the campaign. Between October 1964 and September 1967, Metcalf started a club record 127 consecutive league games. The record remained intact until March 2009, when it was broken by goalkeeper John Danby. Metcalf remained with Chester until the 1968–69 season, playing his final

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 ...

game in a 2–0 defeat to

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

on 30 November 1968. Over the following years, Metcalf had spells playing for

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

and

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

and then became player-manager at

Connah's Quay Nomads Connah's Quay Nomads Football Club () is a Welsh professional association football, football club based in Connah's Quay, Flintshire. They play in the . The club was founded in 1946 as Connah's Quay Juniors and adopted the Connah's Quay Nomads ...

and Witton Albion. Metcalf then ran his own chemical company, Metlab Supplies Ltd, and continued to play local football in the

area. He is sometimes referred to as Mick Metcalf.

Honours

Wrexham *

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 ...

promotion as third placed team: 1961–62

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalf, Mike 1939 births 2018 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players Everton F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players English football managers Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. managers Witton Albion F.C. managers Footballers from Liverpool 20th-century English sportsmen