.png) Lee withManchester City,c. 1970 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francis Henry Lee | ||
| Date of birth | (1944-04-29)29 April 1944 | ||
| Place of birth | Westhoughton, Lancashire, England | ||
| Date of death | 2 October 2023(2023-10-02) (aged 79) | ||
| Place of death | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959–1967 | Bolton Wanderers | 189 | (92) |
| 1967–1974 | Manchester City | 249 | (112) |
| 1974–1976 | Derby County | 62 | (24) |
| Total | 500 | (228) | |
| International career | |||
| 1968–1972 | England | 27 | (10) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Francis Henry LeeCBE (29 April 1944 – 2 October 2023), also known asFranny Lee,[2][3] was an English professionalfootballer and businessman. He was also later the chairman and main shareholder ofManchester City, as well as briefly aracehorse trainer and amateur cricket player.
Astriker, he played forBolton Wanderers, Manchester City,Derby County and theEngland national team. Noted for his speed and determination, he scored more than 200 goals in his career, in which he wonLeague Championship medals with Manchester City and Derby. In 2010, he was inducted into theEnglish Football Hall of Fame.
Lee holds the English record for the greatest number ofpenalties scored in a season, a feat that earned him the nickname"Lee 1 (Pen)", because that was the way his name often seemed to appear on the list of goal scorers for City in the match results listings of the Sunday papers. This led to accusations ofdiving.[4] One such accusation, byLeeds United'sNorman Hunter, led to an on-pitch fight.[5]
In 1966, Lee founded F. H. Lee Ltd, a firm that recycled paper to manufacture products such as kitchen roll and toilet paper.[6] It operated until 2003 and made him a millionaire. In 1994, Lee became the major shareholder and chairman of Manchester City, but stepped down four years later.
As a 16-year-oldamateur footballer, Lee made his debut forBolton Wanderers in November 1960 againstManchester City atBurnden Park.[7] Playing in attack alongside club legendNat Lofthouse, then 35-years old, both scored in a 3–1 win.[7] He signed professionally in May 1961 and was Bolton's top scorer in the1962–63 season in theFirst Division.[7] Thefollowing season, Bolton were relegated to theSecond Division and their second tier campaign, in the1964–65 season, was Lee's most prolific for the club, scoring 23 league goals.[7] He scored in seven consecutive games at the start of the1967–68 season and in September 1967, he was transferred to Manchester City, having scored 106 goals in 210 appearances for Bolton.[7]
Manchester City managerJoe Mercer signed him for a club record transfer fee of £60,000 in 1967.[8] Mercer described the purchase of Lee for City as "the final piece of the puzzle".[9] He made his Manchester City debut in a 2–0 win overWolverhampton Wanderers atMaine Road, and scored his first goal for City the following week atFulham.[10][11] In hisfirst season at the club, he scored 16 League goals in 31 appearances, playing a crucial role in City's push for the league title; Mercer described him as "the final piece of the jigsaw".[8] The title was decided on the final day of the season, City requiring a win atNewcastle United. City won the match 4–3, with Lee scoring one of the goals, and were crowned champions.[12] Thefollowing season, Lee was part of the Manchester City team that won the 1969FA Cup.[13]
In the1969–70 season, Lee was City's top scorer, an achievement he would subsequently match in each of the next four seasons.[8] His tally that season included one of the most important goals of his career, a penalty in thefinal of theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup.[13]
In the1971–72 season, Lee set a British record for the number ofpenalties scored in a season, with 15 of his 35 goals scored from the penalty spot – seven of the penalties resulted from fouls on Lee, earning him the nickname "Lee 1 (Pen)".[2] Some journalists, holding the opinion that Lee gained a number of penalties bydiving, used the name "Lee Won Pen" instead.[14] Lee's name is often cited in debates about diving in football; referees' chiefKeith Hackett described him as a player who "had a reputation of falling down easily".[15]
Lee also held the record for the most goals inManchester derbies, scoring ten goals in all againstManchester United, a tally that equalledJoe Hayes' record.[16] This record was later beaten byWayne Rooney, who scored his 11th goal in the fixture on 22 September 2013.[17]
Lee left Manchester City in 1974, joiningDerby County.[18] For the second time in his career, Lee joined a team viewed as contenders forthat season's league title. He was upset at Manchester City's decision to sell him and marked his first match against his former club by scoring the winning goal for Derby.[19][20] Lee scored twelve league goals that season, Derby winning their second league title and Lee the second championship medal of his career.[18] On 1 November 1975, Lee had a confrontation withLeeds United defenderNorman Hunter, which gained a level of infamy after it was screened onMatch of the Day.[5] In the first half of the game, the referee adjudged that Hunter had fouled Lee in the Leeds penalty area, and awarded Derby a penalty.Charlie George, and not Lee, took the penalty kick, and scored. In the second half, Lee and Hunter were seen to be exchanging punches in an off-the-ball incident.[5] The referee stopped the game and took both players' names, but it was not immediately clear if he had sent off either or both of them. However, as the two men walked away they began fighting again. After intervention by both sets of players, Hunter left the pitch and Lee was restrained and ushered off the field by a club official.[5] Lee suffered a cut lip following the fight which required four stitches and was subsequently banned for four weeks.[21] In 2003, the incident was named byThe Observer as sport's most spectacular dismissal.[5]
Lee played two seasons at Derby, making 80 appearances and scoring 30 goals. On 24 April 1976, the final day of the1975–76 season, he played his last game as a professional footballer in a 6–2 win at againstIpswich Town, in which he scored two goals.[22][23]
Lee made his debut forEngland, aged 24 on 11 December 1968 in a friendly game againstBulgaria atWembley Stadium. His first goal came in his next game, a 5–0 win, again in a friendly, againstFrance on 12 March 1969.[24] The same year, Lee played on a "Rest of the UK" team in a match againstWales to mark theinvestiture of thePrince of Wales. Lee played the first half of the match and scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the 33rd minute.[25]
Lee represented England at the1970 FIFA World Cup inMexico and was the first English player ever to receive a card in a World Cup, for kickingBrazil's goalkeeper,Félix.[26][27] He played in the World Cup games againstRomania, Brazil as well as the game in which England were eliminated, a 3–2 defeat byWest Germany at theEstadio de Guanajuato inLeón.[24]
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After his playing career, Lee moved into business. His toilet roll manufacturing business FH Lee Ltd once employedPeter Kay, later a famous comedian, who mentions his time there in his autobiography,The Sound of Laughter.[28][18]
In 1994, Lee became chairman of Manchester City, oustingPeter Swales from the position by purchasing £3 million of shares at a price of £13.35 per share.[29] Lee was welcomed as a hero by City's supporters, who had formed a movement namedForward With Franny backing his attempt to gain control of the club.[30] Upon becoming chairman, Lee made a series of extravagant claims about his plans for the club, announcing that "This will be the happiest club in the land. The players will be the best paid and we'll drink plenty of champagne, celebrate and sing until we're hoarse".[30] In 1995, he appointed his friendAlan Ball as manager, but the appointment proved unsuccessful and the club were relegated.[31] Lee stepped down in 1998, with the club on the brink of relegation to the third tier of English football, a fate that Lee had dismissed at the previous annual general meeting by saying that he would "jump off theKippax" if the club were relegated.[32] He was succeeded byDavid Bernstein. Lee retained a shareholding after leaving the board of directors but later sold all his shares toThaksin Shinawatra in 2007.[33]
In addition to his business ventures, Lee also had a career as aracehorse trainer. Notable horses trained by Lee includeSir Harry Hardman,[34]Allwight Then[35] andYoung Jason.[36] Lee gave the trade up in 1996 to pursue his business commitments. In a training career which ran from 1984 to 1996, he trained the winners of 181 races in Britain and Ireland. JockeyWillie Carson said ""He was quite a good trainer and had a proper team of horses at one point."[37]
Before becoming a professional footballer Lee showed promise atcricket, representing theHorwich and Westhoughton Schools FA Team in 1958.[38] When his football career came to an end, he briefly returned to cricket, playing for Westhoughton's first XI in 1977 as a medium-fast bowler and middle to lower order batsman.[39]
Lee was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2016 New Year Honours for services to football and charity.[40]
On 2 October 2023, Lee died after a long illness with cancer. He was 79.[3][41]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | |||
| 1968 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1969 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1970 | 9 | 3 | |
| 1971 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1972 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 27 | 10 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 March 1969 | Wembley Stadium,London, England |  France | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 3 May 1969 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | 2–1 | 3–1 | British Home Championship |
| 3 | 7 May 1969 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  Wales | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| 4 | 8 June 1969 | Estadio Centenario,Montevideo, Uruguay |  Uruguay | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 18 April 1970 | Ninian Park,Cardiff, Wales | Wales | 1–1 | 1–1 | British Home Championship |
| 6 | 24 May 1970 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa,Quito, Ecuador |  Ecuador | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 25 November 1970 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  East Germany | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 8 | 21 April 1971 |  Greece | 3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 1972 qualification | |
| 9 | 12 May 1971 |  Malta | 2–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 10 | 29 April 1972 |  West Germany | 1–1 | 1–3 | UEFA Euro 1972 quarter-finals |
Manchester City
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Individual
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