Kirk: Roy

1948-1952 (Player Details)

Centre Half

Born: Shuttlewood, Derbyshire: 11-06-1929

Debut: v Blackburn Rovers (a): 10-02-1951

5’9 1/2” 11st 9 1/2lb (1951)

Kirk was spotted playing for Bolsover Colliery and signed for Leeds in October 1948. Maybe arriving at the same time as John Charles did not enhance his chances at centre half, but he took it in his stride. He played at Centre Half, Centre Forward, Right Half and Outside Right after being blooded in the Yorkshire Midweek League. After Tom Holley retired John Charles was the obvious choice, but as National Service, injury and the experiment with Charles as a centre forward took place Kirk made nine appearances in the late part of the 1950-51 season. He was the regular choice centre half until almost Christmas in the following season, then in January and February he was given the outside right or centre forward role as Charles once more became available. As an outside right he scored both goals as United won 2-0 at Rochdale in the Third Round of the FA Cup and he was at centre forward when he scored United’s goal in the Fifth Round Replay against Chelsea at Elland Road which finished up as a 1-1 draw. In March 1952 a £10,000 transfer took him to Second Division Coventry City, where he made his debut on 15th March 1952 in a 3-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, but he could do little to prevent City from relegation to Division Three (South) at the end of the 1951-52 season. He opened his goalscoring account in the following season when he scored the Sky Blues' second goal in a 2-5 defeat by Bristol Rovers at Eastville on 21st February 1953. At Coventry he had the unwanted distinction of scoring two own-goals in a match, against in a 2-2 home draw with Leyton Orient on 20th September 1954. He did however create a more favourable record with a goal from eighty yards on 20th November 1954 which proved to be the only goal of the match at the County Ground as Coventry beat Northampton Town in a First Round F.A. tie. By co-incidence the Northampton keeper was long time Coventry custodian Alf Wood. He stayed at Highfield Road for almost nine seasons and scored six goals in three hundred and thirty League appearances and one goal in fifteen F.A. Cup games. He had a remarkably consistent record for the Sky Blues missing just six games in 1952-53, then being an ever-present in 1953-54, 1954-55 and then missing just one in 1955-56. He missed seven games in 1956-57 and thirteen in 1957-58 before again being ever-present again in 1958-59, when Coventry were promoted back to Division Three as Runners' up to Port Vale in Division Four. He joined Southern League Club Cambridge United in June 1960. He became the Caretaker Manager at Cambridge in 1963 after Alan Moore had left the club and became the Manager on 1st August 1964 until 31st May 1966, helping lay the foundations of the club which Bill Leivers got into the football League. He died in 1983 aged fifty-four.