| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Stephen Hellawell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1938-06-30)30 June 1938[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Keighley, England | ||
| Date of death | 18 July 2023(2023-07-18) (aged 85)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Keighley, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Outside right | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 195?–1955 | Salts | ||
| 1955–1957 | Queens Park Rangers | 45 | (7) |
| 1957–1965 | Birmingham City | 178 | (30) |
| 1965–1966 | Sunderland | 44 | (2) |
| 1966–1968 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | (1) |
| 1968–1969 | Peterborough United | 9 | (0) |
| 1969–1972 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 96 | (14) |
| Total | 418 | (54) | |
| International career | |||
| 1962 | England | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Michael Stephen Hellawell (30 June 1938 – 18 July 2023) was an English professionalfootballer who played as anoutside forward. He made 322 appearances in theFootball League and played twice forEngland in 1962.
The 17-year-old Hellawell signed forQueens Park Rangers in August 1955 fromSalts, a smallYorkshire League club fromSaltaire, and made his debut in the home match againstExeter City on 25 February 1956.[4] That was his only senior appearance of the season, but in 1956–57 he missed only two matches in all competitions,[5] and was selected to play for theThird Division South representative team against the Northern Section in April 1957.[6] He played 45 games inthe Football League for Rangers[1] before being transferred toBirmingham City in 1957 in part-exchange forinside-forwardBill Finney and "a good fee".[7] When questioned by disappointed supporters, managerJack Taylor explained that Hellawell had signed for Rangers on condition that "they would not stand in his way if aFirst Division Club came after him."[8]
Hellawell joined Birmingham City on 15 May 1957,[3] and made his debut on 7 September, at home toNewcastle United, after the established outside rightGordon Astall was left out. The visitors took a 2–0 lead early in the second half before Hellawell, who had received little service on the wing, drifted into the centre, won the ball, and scored with a deflected shot from outside thepenalty area. The match ended as a 4–1 defeat, Astall returned to the team,[9][10] and Hellawell made only one more first-team appearance over the next two years,[5] because of the form of Astall andHarry Hooper as well as hisNational Service duties.[11][12] He had a short run in the side in the1959–60 season, was considered unlucky to lose his place,[13] and finally established himself after Hooper's transfer toSunderland in September 1960.[14]
He finished the1960–61 season as Birmingham's top league scorer, jointly withJimmy Harris, with 10 goals. He played in all six of their1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup ties, scored against theCopenhagen XI, and supplied the cross from whichCostanzo Balleri scored anown goal that won the semi-final first leg againstInternazionale to set a record that Birmingham held for more than 40 years: the only English team to beat Inter in a competitive match in their own stadium.[15][16] In the first leg ofthe final, in Birmingham, visitorsRoma led 2–0; Hellawell pulled a goal back with 10 minutes left, andBryan Orritt scored a late equaliser.[15] In the second, Roma had much the better of the game, and won 2–0;Stampa Sera were not surprised that Birmingham were bottom of the league, and rated onlyTrevor Smith and Hellawell as good players.[17]
Over the next three seasons, Hellawell missed only five matches in all competitions.[18] He was on the winning side in the1963 League Cup final as Birmingham beat local rivalsAston Villa 3–1 over two legs.[6] Having won the home leg 3–1, Birmingham were "eager to protect their lead rather than add to it" in the second,[19] and theBirmingham Post's Cyril Chapman noted how Hellawell "seemed to have difficulty in finding a convenient spot on which to place the ball for corner-kicks".[20]
In September 1964, it was reported that Aston Villa had made a bid of £40,000 for Hellawell's services, but Birmingham's temporary shortage of available players meant it was not immediately acted upon. In the meantime, Villa signed an alternative winger, but Hellawell was unsettled by the reports and the implication that Birmingham were prepared to sell him. After "peace talks" with the club's general manager, he did not proceed with a transfer request,[21][22] and continued as a regular starter until losing his place in November because of injury.[23][24] He played for the reserves – taking over in goal on one occasion afterTerry Twell was concussed, and conceding only once[25] – but there was no place for him in first-team coachJoe Mallett's new formation which employed a defender in theinside-right position.[26]
On 23 January 1965, Hellawell signed forSunderland for a fee reported as around £30,000.[27] He made an eventful start: on his debut, againstBlackpool he suffereddouble vision and a broken nose. During the second half of the next match, atSheffield Wednesday, he developed a headache. He left to go home, but was found in the street in a confused state, spent the weekend in a local hospital,[28] and declared himself unfit for the next match.[29] He played regularly for the rest of the season and scored twice.[5]
Substitution was first permitted by the Football League in the1965–66 season. Hellawell was left out of Sunderland's starting eleven for their first match of that season by new managerIan McColl, but was named as substitute.[30] He remained unused, and two weeks later he became the first Sunderland player to be substituted, when he was injured early in the second half of the visit to Aston Villa and replaced byAllan Gauden.[2][31] He started in two-thirds of Sunderland's league matches, scored once,[5] played once in the first few weeks of the 1966–67 season,[5] and was placed on the transfer list on 7 September.[32]
Hellawell signed forSecond Division clubHuddersfield Town on 22 September 1966 for a fee "believed to be in the region of £20,000".[33] TheHuddersfield Daily Examiner's football correspondent,Longfellow, had not seen him play, but had heard "he's fast, fearless and aggressive. He's a fighter and a 100 per center, so I'm told, and on that score alone he will do for me."[34] As a youth, Hellawell had played for Huddersfield's junior teams but been told he was too frail for professional football.[35] He started every game until mid-April 1967, when a throat infection kept him out, and finished the season with one goal from 32 appearances.[5][36]
An ankle injury in pre-season caused Hellawell to miss the first month of the 1967–68 season, and he was unable to establish himself in the League side thereafter.[5][37] He played in the team's run to the semi-finals of theLeague Cup, andassisted goals forColin Dobson in the first leg and forTony Leighton in the second, but opponentsArsenal won 6–3 on aggregate to progress tothe final.[38][39] By late February 1968, when he was injured early in a match againstPlymouth Argyle, he had made only 14 league appearances.[5][40] When he regained fitness, he was used in the reserves,[41][42] and when senior coachIan Greaves took over as manager in June,[43] Hellawell remained out of favour.[44]
At the end of November 1968, Hellawell signed forFourth Division clubPeterborough United for a £4,000 fee.[45] He played two competitive matches before the manager who signed him,Norman Rigby, was replaced byJim Iley asplayer-manager. According to Hellawell in his autobiography, Iley told him "he had no time for wingers", and Hellawell finished the season with nine appearances.[5][46][47]
Although Hellawell had no intention of retiring from league football when he left Peterborough at the end of the season, he had bought a newsagent's shop in Keighley, so was reluctant to accept offers from clubs too far from home. His former manager at Birmingham,Gil Merrick, offered him a contract withWest Midlands League clubBromsgrove Rovers, with permission to train at Keighley and drive down for matches on Saturdays and on the understanding that if a suitable league club made him an offer, he would be free to leave.[48] Hellawell took up Merrick's offer – his brotherJohn joined him at Bromsgrove a month later[49] – and both ended up spending three years with the club.[50] Merrick wanted Hellawell to stay on for the 1972–73 season, but his newsagent's business had expanded such that he felt he did not have the time.[51]
Whilst with Birmingham City, Hellawell won his two fullcaps forEngland, againstFrance andNorthern Ireland in 1962.[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1955–56[5] | Third Division South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57[5] | Third Division South | 44 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 47 | 8 | |||
| Total | 45 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 48 | 8 | ||||
| Birmingham City | 1957–58[52] | First Division | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1958–59[53] | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60[54] | First Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 1960–61[55] | First Division | 28 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 40 | 12 | |
| 1961–62[56] | First Division | 42 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 50 | 8 | |
| 1962–63[57] | First Division | 40 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 51 | 5 | ||
| 1963–64[58] | First Division | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 5 | ||
| 1964–65[23] | First Division | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 2 | ||
| Total | 178 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 213 | 33 | ||
| Sunderland | 1964–65[5] | First Division | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| 1965–66[5] | First Division | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 1966–67[5] | First Division | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 44 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 46 | 3 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 1966–67[5] | Second Division | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| 1967–68[5] | Second Division | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 54 | 1 | |||
| Peterborough United | 1968–69[5] | Fourth Division | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Bromsgrove Rovers | 1969–70[50] | West Midlands Premier Div | 36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 23[a] | 2 | 59 | 7 | |
| 1970–71[50] | West Midlands Premier Div | 34 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | 22[b] | 3 | 61 | 7 | ||
| 1971–72[50] | West Midlands Premier Div | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 17[c] | 4 | 45 | 9 | ||
| Total | 96 | 14 | 7 | 0 | — | 62 | 9 | 165 | 23 | |||
| Career total | 418 | 55 | 20 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 73 | 11 | 535 | 68 | ||
Hellawell showed promise as acricketall-rounder forYorkshire Second XI[59] and forWarwickshire, for whom he played onefirst-class match.[60]
Hellawell was born inKeighley,West Riding of Yorkshire.[1] He and his brotherJohn, who also went on to play football professionally, attendedSt Bede's Grammar School inBradford.[61] After leaving school he worked as a colour-matcher in a textile mill.[62] He was called up forNational Service in 1957 and served with theRoyal Army Medical Corps.[7]
Hellawell was married to Brenda for 60 years, and was an active Christian.[59] After retiring from professional sport, he worked for clothing manufacturerDamart.[63] He published an autobiography,The Impossible is Possible, in late 2020.[59] A grandson,Jacob Rowan, played professionalrugby.[64]
Hellawell died in Keighley on 18 July 2023 at age 85.[3][2]
Birmingham City[6]