Mike Metcalf
Encyclopedia
Mike Metcalf is a former English
professional footballer who made more than 300 appearances in The Football League
for Wrexham
and Chester
.
Metcalf began his career with Everton
, before joining Wrexham
as a part-timer in May 1957 to allow him to complete a degree course in chemistry
. Over the next six years he scored 58 times in 121 league games for Wrexham before switching to local rivals Chester
for £5,000 in December 1963. The following season saw Chester score 141 in Fourth Division
, FA Cup
and Football League Cup
matches, with Metcalf netting 37 of them. His fellow forwards Jimmy Humes
, Elfed Morris
, Hugh Ryden and Gary Talbot
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
game in a 2–0 defeat to Workington on 30 November 1968.
Over the following years, Metcalf had spells playing for Altrincham
, Bangor City
and Rhyl
and then became player-manager at 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 Chester
area.
He is sometimes referred to as Mick Metcalf.
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...
professional footballer who made more than 300 appearances in The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
for Wrexham
Wrexham A.F.C.
Wrexham Football Club are a professional football team based in Wrexham, north-east Wales, who play in the English football pyramid.Founded in 1872, they are one of the oldest surviving football clubs in Britain and the oldest professional club in Wales...
and Chester
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...
.
Metcalf began his career with Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, before joining Wrexham
Wrexham A.F.C.
Wrexham Football Club are a professional football team based in Wrexham, north-east Wales, who play in the English football pyramid.Founded in 1872, they are one of the oldest surviving football clubs in Britain and the oldest professional club in Wales...
as a part-timer in May 1957 to allow him to complete a degree course in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. Over the next six years he scored 58 times in 121 league games for Wrexham before switching to local rivals Chester
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...
for £5,000 in December 1963. The following season saw Chester score 141 in Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League 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...
, FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
matches, with Metcalf netting 37 of them. His fellow forwards Jimmy Humes
Jimmy Humes
Jimmy Humes is a former English professional footballer who played as a winger. He played in The Football League for four clubs.-Playing career:...
, Elfed Morris
Elfed Morris
Elfed Morris is a former Welsh professional footballer. He played in The Football League for Wrexham, Chester and Halifax Town.-Playing career:...
, Hugh Ryden and Gary Talbot
Gary Talbot
Gary Talbot was a professional footballer in the 1960s with Chester, where he set a record as the second highest Football League goalscorer, and Crewe Alexandra...
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
John Danby
John Danby is an English footballer who plays for Chester as a goalkeeper.-Career:Born in Stoke, Danby spent five seasons with Kidderminster Harriers before signing for Chester City in 2006...
. Metcalf remained with Chester until the 1968–69 season
1968-69 in English football
The 1968–69 season was the 89th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Leeds United won the League for the first time in their history, finishing six points ahead of Liverpool...
, playing his final Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
game in a 2–0 defeat to Workington on 30 November 1968.
Over the following years, Metcalf had spells playing for Altrincham
Altrincham F.C.
Altrincham Football Club is an English association football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Conference North, having been relegated from the Conference National at the end of the 2010–11 season.-History:...
, Bangor City
Bangor City F.C.
Bangor City Football Club are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the City of Bangor. The club compete in the Welsh Premier League, being ever present since the league was founded in 1992....
and Rhyl
Rhyl F.C.
Rhyl Football Club is a Welsh football club, playing in the Cymru Alliance.The club was founded in 1882 and the team plays its home matches at Belle Vue, Rhyl, which can accommodate 3,000 spectators.- History :Few clubs in the Welsh Premier League have as distinguished a past as Rhyl's...
and then became player-manager at Connah's Quay Nomads
Connah's Quay Nomads F.C.
Gap Connah's Quay F.C. is a football team, playing in the Cymru Alliance.gap Connah's Quay, formerly known as Connah's Quay Nomads FC, was the subject of a takeover from Welsh independent recruitment firm 'gap personnel' in June 2008....
and 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...
. Metcalf then ran his own chemical company, Metlab Supplies Ltd, and continued to play local football in the Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
area.
He is sometimes referred to as Mick Metcalf.
Honours
Wrexham- Football League Fourth DivisionFootball League Fourth DivisionThe Fourth Division of The Football League 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...
promotion as third placed team: 1961–621961-62 in English footballThe 1961–62 season was the 82nd season of competitive Football in England.-Overview:The season was notable for the remarkable achievement of Ipswich Town winning the League Championship. Under the managership of Alf Ramsey, the club progressed from the old Third Division South to the First Division...