Albert Edward Lyons (20 May 1920 – November 1996) was an English professional football full back who played in the Football League for Bury, Millwall, Crewe Alexandra and Rochdale. After his retirement as a player, Lyons served Brentford in a number of backroom roles for over 30 years.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Albert Edward Lyons[1] | ||
Date of birth | 20 May 1920[1] | ||
Place of birth | Rochdale, England[1] | ||
Date of death | November 1996 (1996-12) (aged 76)[1] | ||
Place of death | Bracknell, England[1] | ||
Position(s) | Full back | ||
Youth career | |||
0000–1941 | Stockport County | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1941–1944 | Stockport County | 0 | (0) |
1944–1950 | Bury | 2 | (0) |
1950–1952 | Millwall | 6 | (0) |
1952–1953 | Crewe Alexandra | 23 | (0) |
1953–1954 | Rochdale | 19 | (1) |
Dartford | |||
Gravesend & Northfleet | |||
Teams managed | |||
1976 | Brentford (caretaker) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
A full back, Lyons began his career in wartime football with Stockport County and after the war,[2] he played in the Football League for Bury, Millwall, Crewe Alexandra and Rochdale.[1][3] He ended his career in non-league football with Southern League clubs Dartford and Gravesend & Northfleet and won the league title with the latter club in the 1957–58 season.[4]
After retiring from football, Lyons became assistant trainer at Brentford.[4] He also helped Ted Gaskell with the running of the club's short-lived 'A' team in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[4] Lyons progressed to become the club physiotherapist in the 1970s and took caretaker charge for one match in September 1976 after the departure of John Docherty.[5] Lyons was awarded a testimonial for his service in May 1984 and at age 63, he played the final 15 minutes of the match against Chelsea.[4] He earned £8,000 from the match (equivalent to £27,400 in 2022),[6] was given a gold watch and was presented with a Canon League Loyalty Award by Brentford chairman Martin Lange.[4] In September 1990, he came out of retirement to serve as a physiotherapist for the officials at an England international match at Wembley Stadium.[7]
After leaving league football, Lyons settled in Ealing and purchased a newsagents, which he ran with his wife Iris.[4] Lyons suffered from health problems in later life, including bladder cancer, a stroke and having a triple heart bypass operation.[4] As of August 1996, he was living in Bracknell.[4]
Gravesend & Northfleet
Individual
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Millwall | 1949–50[9] | Third Division South | 4 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
1950–51[10] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
1951–52[11] | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Career total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Brentford F.C. – managers | |
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