Full name Anthony Norman Collins Name Tony Collins | Years Team Playing position Role Football player | |
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Date of birth (1926-03-19) 19 March 1926 (age 89) Place of birth Kensington, London, England | ||
Tony collins former nfl running back
Anthony Norman Collins (born 19 March 1926) is an English football player, manager and scout, who played as a left winger. He managed Rochdale between 1960 and 1967, becoming the first black manager in The Football League and leading them to the 1962 Football League Cup Final, their only major final appearance.
Contents
- Tony collins former nfl running back
- Motivational speaker athlete tony collins on success
- Early life
- Playing career
- Management and scouting career
- Legacy
- References
Collins played professionally for Sheffield Wednesday, York City, Watford (in two spells), Norwich City, Torquay United and Crystal Palace (where he was the club's first black player), before ending his playing career at Rochdale. Apart from a spell as assistant manager (and briefly caretaker manager) at Bristol City, he latterly worked mainly in scouting for a number of clubs, including Leeds United and Manchester United, as well as for the England national team.
Motivational speaker athlete tony collins on success
Early life
Tony Collins was born in Kensington, London, on 19 March 1926 to a 17-year-old unmarried white mother. His father, who was black, wasn't named on the birth certificate. Collins was adopted by his maternal grandparents and grew up in the Portobello Road area. A promising schoolboy footballer, he played for local club Acton United and was due to sign for Brentford until he was called up for military service during the Second World War.
Playing career
During his three years of wartime service stationed in Padua, Italy, Collins was spotted in Army football matches and recommended to Sheffield Wednesday. After being demobbed and returning to England, he signed for Wednesday in November 1947, but didn't make any first team appearances. He made his Football League debut for York City in the Third Division North after joining them in July 1949, and was then transferred to Watford in August 1950. While at Watford, Collins was linked with a representative call-up after being watched by a selector from The Football Association, and the club chairman was quoted as saying in response to transfer speculation, "£12,000 won't buy him".
After Watford, Collins joined Norwich City in 1953 and then Torquay United in 1955. He briefly returned to Watford in 1957 before signing for Crystal Palace later that year; he was the first black player to appear for Palace. He joined his final club as a player, Rochdale, in June 1959. In total, Collins made 333 Football League appearances, scoring 47 goals, before retiring in 1961.
Management and scouting career
At the end of Collins' first season at Rochdale, manager Jack Marshall left the club to join Blackburn Rovers. After being encouraged by his teammates to apply for the post, Collins was appointed as player-manager of the Fourth Division club in June 1960. He was the first non-white manager of a Football League club. In his second season, Rochdale reached the League Cup Final, only to lose 4–0 on aggregate to Second Division Norwich City. As of 2017 it remains the club's only appearance in a major final, and one of only two EFL Cup final appearances by a fourth-tier side. Despite this achievement, Collins failed to attract interest in his services from larger clubs. Gradually tiring of the demands the job placed on his time and family life, he resigned in September 1967.
After leaving Rochdale, Collins worked as chief scout for Bristol City and then under manager Don Revie at Leeds United. When Revie became manager of the England national team, Collins worked with him compiling dossiers on opponents; the press dubbed Collins "Football's Superspy" when one was leaked to the press before a match against Scotland. He rejoined Bristol City as assistant manager to Alan Dicks in 1976, leaving the club in September 1980 after a brief spell as caretaker manager. After a second spell as Leeds' chief scout, he served Manchester United in a similar capacity from 1982 to 1988, helping the club to find future stars including Paul McGrath and Lee Sharpe. Before retiring, Collins also scouted for Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United, Millwall and Derby County.
Legacy
Keith Alexander, who became Lincoln City manager in 1993, was often described as the first black manager in the Football League, until Tony Collins' achievements became more widely reported. Although, non-white players were a rarity in English football during his era, contemporary reports made few references to his colour, and Collins himself says he wasn't affected by prejudice. His appointment at Rochdale also attracted little attention at the time, save for one report which described the new manager as "a coloured boy" and quoted the club chairman as saying that Collins' colour wasn't an issue in choosing him.
The historical significance of Collins' appointment became more widely reported in 2016 as a result of the publication of Tony Collins: Football Master Spy, a biography co-authored by his daughter. This led to Collins, by then 90 years old and living in a care home in Moston, Manchester, to be interviewed by BBC North West Tonight and ITV News about his life and career.