Sammy Chapman (soccer player, 1938)

Sammy Chapman
Personnel
Surname	Samuel Edward Chapman
birthday	February 16, 1938
place of birth	Belfast ,  Northern Ireland
date of death	July 24, 2019
Place of death	Wombourne ,  England
position	Outrunner , half forward (right)
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
	Shamrock Rovers
1956-1958	Mansfield Town	50 (25)
1958-1961	Portsmouth FC	48 (10)
1961-1964	Mansfield Town	105 (15)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1957	Northern Ireland B	1 0(1)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1985-1986	Wolverhampton Wanderers
1 Only league games are given.

Samuel Edward "Sammy" Chapman (born February 16, 1938 in Belfast , † July 24, 2019 in Wombourne ) was a Northern Irish football player and coach . Mostly in the half positions in midfield and in attack, he was known in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a player for Mansfield Town and Portsmouth FC . The active career of the 1958 World Cup finalist ended dishonorably with a lifelong suspension following a bribery scandal. Later worked as a trainer and was briefly responsible for the Wolverhampton Wanderers in the mid-1980s .

Athletic career

Chapman's active career began in Irish football and at the age of 18 he eventually moved from Shamrock Rovers to England to Mansfield Town . There he came mostly to the right as an outside runner or half- forward, used in the third-rate Third Division North , for his first assignments. With a total of 25 goals in 50 league games, he made a lasting recommendation for higher tasks and so he joined Portsmouth FC in the top English division before the end of the 1957/58 season . To this end, he was appointed to the Northern Irish squad on the occasion of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden , but did not travel to Sweden with the line-up of just 17 players, and later in his career he did not make any international appearances - only an appearance for the B-selection in 1957 remained granted him. In a little less than four years for Portsmouth FC, the successes for Chapman were largely absent. At first he came only sporadically and although he was used more frequently after relegation in 1959, especially in the 1960/61 season, he had to accompany the further march into the third division that year. Immediately thereafter, he returned to Mansfield in December 1961. There he found back to his old strength and helped the club, which had been relegated to the fourth division in 1962, back into the third division. Just two more years later, however, Chapman's playing career ended suddenly and dishonorably when he was banned for life after a betting scandal in which he was involved.

After the end of his active career, Chapman switched to coaching. The first stations were in the coaching staff of Portsmouth FC and later Crewe Alexandra , before he accepted a position as chief scout with Wolverhampton Wanderers . When head coach Tommy Docherty left the club there in the mid-1980s , Chapman took over the sporting management on an interim basis before Bill McGarry took over in September 1985. When McGarry himself gave up after 61 days, Chapman was named, somewhat surprisingly, the "permanent solution". The "Wolves", who had been relegated to the third division the previous summer for the first time since 1923, were in a previously unknown downward spiral and when at the end of the 1985/86 season even the move to fourth division was imminent, Chapman was also dismissed .

His later engagements included activities as a scout and youth coordinator for Leicester City and as a co- trainer for Broadbridge Heath in West Sussex . His two sons Campbell and Cavan also made it to appearances in the Football League .

literature

• Matthews, Tony: Wolverhampton Wanderers - The Complete Record . Breedon Books, 2008, ISBN 978-1-85983-632-3 , pp. 172 .

Web links

• Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ expressandstar.com: Tributes paid after former Wolves boss Sammy Chapman passes away (July 26, 2019) , accessed on July 27, 2019
2. ↑ "HALL OF FAME: The Midfielders part 1" ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Mansfield Town FC) 
3. ↑ "Wolves Managers From 1885 to Present Day" ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (The Wolves Site)