Samuel Irvine (born 7 January 1956) is a Scottish 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

and

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

Career

Irvine was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

but started his career at English side

where he made 229 league appearances for the club, scoring 19 goals in six seasons.*Jones, Mike: "Breathe on 'em Salop - The Second Coming" (Salop Sporting Services, ). Under the guidance of

Alan Durban William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager ...

the "Shrews" gained promotion from the Fourth Division in 1974–75 and were able to establish themselves in the third tier. In January 1978

joined Second Division

and less than six months later he signed Irvine for £60,000. His first season with Stoke was full of promise for Irvine as he played well as Stoke finished in 3rd position and gained promotion back to the First Division. In 1979–80 with Stoke playing at the highest level and Irvine's career seemingly improving it came as a shock when in February 1980 he was involved in a near fatal car crash when his

Triumph TR7 The Triumph TR7 is a sports car that was manufactured in the United Kingdom from September 1974 to October 1981 by British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), which changed its name to British Leyland (BL) in 1975. The car was launched in the Uni ...

collided into a tree. His injuries meant that he had to bring an end to his professional football career at the age of 24.

Career statistics

Honours

Shrewsbury Town *

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 ...

runner-up: 1974–75 Stoke City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

third-place promotion: 1978–79

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Sammy Living people 1956 births Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers English Football League players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Footballers from Glasgow