Joe Kirkup is a retired English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who played as a full-back.

Playing career

Kirkup played Junior football with West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

, and was a member of the FA Youth Cup

FA Youth Cup

The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...

 Final team of 1956-57 alongside John Lyall

John Lyall

John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father, James, was from Kirriemuir. He was born in Ilford, Essex.- Youth team career :...

 and John Smith

John Smith (footballer)

John Smith was a footballer, a West Ham Academy product who was born in Shoreditch, London. He made 136 appearances for the club between 1956 and 1960, playing right half and inside right. He scored 23 goals for the east London club before being transferred to Tottenham Hotspur where he was one of...

. After signing for the senior team at the age of 17, he made his League debut against Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 in December 1958. He was a member of the team that won the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1964-65

The season 1964-65 of the European Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by West Ham United in a final at Wembley Stadium against 1860 Munich.-First round:-First leg:-Second leg:Torino won 5–3 on aggregate.-Second round:...

.

Kirkup made 165 League appearances for West Ham, scoring six goals, before joining Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 in March 1966 for £27,000. He made 53 League appearances for the west London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 club, and joined Southampton

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 in 1967. He made 193 appearances for the Saints, scoring four goals.

In 1975, Kirkup emigrated to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 to join Durban City F.C. as player-manager, taking over the post from his old team-mate Johnny Byrne

Johnny Byrne (footballer)

John Joseph "Budgie" Byrne was an English professional football player.Johnny started his career playing for Epsom Town, and then Guildford City Youth, before moving to Football League club Crystal Palace, signing a professional contract on his 17th birthday...

. He returned to England in mid-1976 and joined Byfleet Machine & Tool Company.

Following family tradition, Kirkup's nephew - Grant Kirkup - also went semi-professional, whilst Grant's granddaughter, Aly Lyons, currently plays for Wootton Bassett Town F.C.

Wootton Bassett Town F.C.

Wootton Bassett Town Football Club are an English football club based in the town of Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire.The club has three senior, one ladies, 15 youth and mini soccer and one girls teams and is affiliated to the Wiltshire County Football Association. The record match attendance was...

 His great nephew - Matthew Baldwin - was a member of the Farnham Knights 2009 Youth National Championship team.

Personal life

Joe married his wife Jill and had 2 sons. One of his sons, Tony, now plays football for his local team, and has become a committed fan of football. Joe now has 2 grandchildren and lives in Surrey.

External links

• Joe Kirkup at westhamstats.info