Ken Mulhearn

Kenneth John Mulhearn (16 October 1945 – 13 March 2018) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Stockport County, Manchester City, Shrewsbury Town and Crewe Alexandra.

Ken Mulhearn
Personal information
Full name Kenneth John Mulhearn
Date of birth (1945-10-16)16 October 1945
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Date of death 13 March 2018(2018-03-13) (aged 72)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Everton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1967 Stockport County 100 (0)
1967–1971 Manchester City 50 (0)
1971–1980 Shrewsbury Town 370 (0)
1980–1982 Crewe Alexandra 88 (0)
Total 608 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Early career

Mulhearn started his career as an apprentice at Everton but did not make the first team, and moved into the lower divisions with Stockport County, where he made 100 appearances.

Manchester City

He was signed by First Division Manchester City on 21 September 1967, a transfer which Stockport great Len Allchurch later reflected on by saying "...a great 'keeper. We never thought we'd replace him when he went to City".[1] Two days later Manchester City's first choice goalkeeper Harry Dowd sustained an injury, and Mulhearn took his place in the team, his debut coming in a Manchester derby.[2] He kept his place for the remainder of the season, gaining a League Championship medal as part of Manchester City's 1967–68 title-winning side.

Mulhearn started the following season as first choice, playing as they won the 1968 FA Charity Shield,[3] but was dropped following a European Cup defeat to Fenerbahçe, in which his failure to claim a cross resulted in a winning goal for the Turkish side, leading Malcolm Allison to blame him for the defeat.[4] He did not feature again that season, and dropped to third choice behind Dowd and Joe Corrigan. He returned to the first team for brief periods in the 1969–70 season, but by this time Corrigan had become established as a senior player and opportunities were limited. He made his final Manchester City appearance in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal on 18 February 1970.[5]

Later career

In March 1971 he transferred to Shrewsbury Town, where he made 370 league appearances in nine years. His final club was Crewe Alexandra, where he made 88 appearances before retiring to run a public house in Shrewsbury.[6]

Personal life

His grandson is current Southampton goalkeeper Harry Lewis.

Mulhearn died in his sleep on 13 March 2018.[7]

References
  1. "Len Allchurch". Stockport County FC. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  2. "Ken Mulhearn". Manchester City FC vs Bolton Wanderers match programme. 15 December 2007. p. 51.
  3. "1968/69 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  4. Penney, Ian (2008). Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-608-8. p65
  5. James, Gary (2006). Manchester City - The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0. p406
  6. Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p204
  7. Cox, Lewis. "Legendary Shrewsbury goalkeeper Ken Mulhearn dies, aged 72". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
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