Mark Leonard was a professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who was a striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 for a number of English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 league clubs.

Leonard started his career with non-league side Witton Albion

Witton Albion F.C.

Witton Albion F.C. are a football club based in Northwich, England. They were founded in 1887. They have won the Cheshire Senior Cup 11 times since 1902. Their most recent success in this competition was in 2006, when they defeated Stalybridge Celtic in the final. They have also reached the FA Cup...

 in 1981. Over the next 18 years he played more than 400 league games scoring nearly 100 goals at a number of teams across the North West of England as well as Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

. It was at Bradford where he spent the longest spell of his career and he was part of the team that nearly earned promotion to the top flight in 1987–88

1987-88 in English football

The 1987–88 season was the 120th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool won the league title with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season....

. He scored 29 goals in 157 appearances at Bradford City.

In 1993–94

1993-94 in English football

The 1993-1994 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:From the start of this season, the FA Premier League would be sponsored by Carling Breweries - an association which would last for eight years...

, Leonard was part of the Chester City

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 side that were promoted as runners-up in Football League Division Three, in his only season with the club. It was the first of three successive clubs he played for under manager Graham Barrow

Graham Barrow

Graham Barrow is an English former footballer who has since become a lower division manager. He is currently part of the coaching staff at Premier League side Wigan Athletic, where he has previously been both a player and manager.-Barrow the Player:Barrow first entered the Football League at the...

. A knee injury at the last of these, Rochdale

Rochdale A.F.C.

Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...

, ended his career.

After 19 years as a professional footballer, Leonard took up crown green bowls. He won the Merseyside Merit tournament in 2001.

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