Mick Hulligan

Mick Hulligan

Personal information
Full name	Michael John Hulligan[1]
Date of birth	28 February 1923
Place of birth	Liverpool, England[1]
Date of death	12 September 1978 (aged 55)[1]
Place of death	Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Playing position	Winger
Youth career
	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1948–1955	Port Vale	197	(22)
	Northwich Victoria
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Michael John "Mick" Hulligan (28 February 1923 – 12 September 1978) was an English footballer. In a seven-year career in the Football League with Port Vale, he made 209 league and cup appearances and scored 23 goals. He helped the club to win the Third Division North title in 1953–54.

Playing career

Hulligan played for Liverpool before he and Stan Palk joined Port Vale in July 1948 for what was, at the time, a club record combined transfer fee of £10,000.^[1] He impressed manager Gordon Hodgson, who subsequently sold wing rival Walter Keeley.^[1] He scored his first senior goal on 23 August 1948, in a 3–0 win over Reading at The Old Recreation Ground.^[1] However he broke his ankle the following month, causing him to miss much of the season.^[1] He nevertheless hit five goals in 28 Third Division South games in 1948–49.^[1] He scored twice in 42 appearances in 1949–50, and was an ever-present for the 50 game 1950–51 season – the first to be played at the newly built Vale Park.^[1]

Hulligan scored four goals in 38 games in 1951–52 and four goals in 45 games in 1952–53, as he was a key part of Freddie Steele's squad that finished second in the Third Division North.^[1] However he lost his first team place however in August 1953, and played just five league games of the club's highly successful 1953–54 campaign, missing out on the "Valiants" run to the FA Cup semi-finals.^[1] He featured just once in the Second Division in 1954–55, and was transferred to non-league side Northwich Victoria in July 1955.^[1]

Statistics

• Sourced from Mick Hulligan profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Port Vale	1948–49	Third Division South	28	5	0	0	28	5
	1949–50	Third Division South	38	2	4	0	42	2
	1950–51	Third Division South	46	7	4	1	50	8
	1951–52	Third Division South	37	4	1	0	38	4
	1952–53	Third Division North	42	4	2	0	44	4
	1953–54	Third Division North	5	0	0	0	5	0
	1954–55	Second Division	1	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		197	22	11	1	208	23

Honours

with Port Vale

• Football League Third Division North runner-up: 1952–53
• Football League Third Division North champion: 1953–54^[2]

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 146. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. Sherwin, Phil; Askey, Steve (2013), Men of Steele: The story of Port Vale's stunning 1953/54 season, Pass Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9926579-1-8