John Mortimore (footballer)

John Mortimore

Personal information
Full name	John Henry Mortimore
Date of birth	(1934-09-23)23 September 1934
Place of birth	Farnborough, Hampshire, England
Date of death	26 January 2021(2021-01-26) (aged 86)
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Woking
1956–1965	Chelsea	249	(8)
1965–1966	Queens Park Rangers	10	(0)
Managerial career
1971–1972	Ethnikos Piraeus
1973–1974	Portsmouth
1976–1979	Benfica
1985–1987	Benfica
1987–1988	Real Betis
1988–1989	Belenenses
1994	Southampton (joint caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Henry Mortimore (23 September 1934 – 26 January 2021) was an English football player and manager.[1]

Career

Mortimore played as a centre half in the Football League for Chelsea, with whom he scored 10 goals from 279 games in all competitions between 1956 and 1965[2] and won the 1965 Football League Cup,[3] and for Queens Park Rangers.[1] As manager, he had spells at Portsmouth,[4] Benfica, where he won the national championship in both 1976–77 and 1986–87, and the Portuguese Cup in 1986 and 1987,[5][6] Belenenses[7] and, in a very brief stint as joint caretaker, Southampton.[8] He also coached at clubs including Sunderland,[1] Chelsea and Southampton,[9] where he eventually became club president.[10]

He died on 26 January 2021, aged 86.[11][12]

Honours

Player

Chelsea

• Football League Cup: 1964–65[11]

Manager

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 1976–77,[11] 1986–87[11]
• Taça de Portugal: 1985–86,[13] 1986–87[13]
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1985[13]

References

1. "John Mortimore". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
2. "John Mortimore". Historical Player Database. Chelsea F.C. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
3. Fort, Didier (25 February 2001). "England – League Cup Finals 1961–2001". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
4. "Manager History for Portsmouth". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
5. "100 anos: John Mortimore" [100 years: John Mortimore]. Record (in Portuguese). 18 May 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
6. Bliss, Dominic (24 December 2014). "Exclusive: John Mortimore reminisces on his Benfica tenure". PortuGOAL.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
7. "Lista de treinadores da equipa principal" [List of first-team coaches] (in Portuguese). C.F. Os Belenenses. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
8. Haylett, Trevor (18 January 1994). "Saints' attention focuses on Webb". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
9. Fox, Norman (6 December 1998). "So How Good Is Your Right Hand Man?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
10. Media Guide 2008/09 (PDF). Southampton F.C. p. 14. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
11. "John Mortimore 1934-2021". chelseafc.com. 26 January 2021.
12. "John Mortimore: Ex-Chelsea defender and title-winning Benfica manger dies, aged 86". BBC Sport. 27 January 2021.
13. "John Mortimore, treinador bicampeão pelo Benfica, morre aos 86 anos". visao.sapo.pt (in Portuguese). 27 January 2021.