Eddie Lyons (footballer)

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.

Eddie Lyons
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]
Playing 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)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

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]

Physiotherapy and coaching career

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 £25,900 in 2020),[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]

Personal life

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]

Honours

Gravesend & Northfleet

Individual

  • Canon League Loyalty Award[4]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
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

References
  1. "Eddie Lyons". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. "Player profile | HattersMatters". Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. "ROCHDALE AFC – Up The Dale – Index". Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  4. Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Luton Town. 24 August 1996. p. 19.
  5. Official Brentford Programme 2006/2007 versus Leyton Orient. Dunwoody Sports Publishing. 31 January 2007. pp. 38–39.
  6. Griffin Gazette: Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Crewe Alexandra. Quay Design of Poole. 6 April 1996. p. 20.
  7. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 9781906796723.
  8. Gravesend & Northfleet F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  9. "Millwall Season 49/50 Stats". www.millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  10. "Millwall Season 50/51 Stats". www.millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  11. "Millwall Season 51/52 Stats". www.millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2017.


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