Kenneth John Mulhearn is an 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...

 former football goalkeeper who played for Stockport County

Stockport County F.C.

Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

, 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...

, Shrewsbury Town

Shrewsbury Town F.C.

Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...

 and Crewe Alexandra

Crewe Alexandra F.C.

Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...

.

Mulhearn started his career as an apprentice at Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 but did not make the first team, and moved into the lower divisions with Stockport County, where he made 100 appearances. He was signed by First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 Manchester City on 21 September 1967, a transfer which Stockport great Len Allchurch

Len Allchurch

Leonard "Len" Allchurch is a Welsh former professional footballer. He was born in Swansea and is the brother of the late Ivor Allchurch.-Club career:...

 later reflected on by saying "...a great 'keeper. We never thought we'd replace him when he went to City". Two days later Manchester City's first choice goalkeeper Harry Dowd

Harry Dowd

Henry William "Harry" Dowd is an English former football goalkeeper who played for Manchester City, Stoke City and Oldham Athletic.-Career:...

 sustained an injury, and Mulhearn took his place in the team, his debut coming in a Manchester derby

Manchester derby

The Manchester derby is the name given to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. The local derby centres on the City of Manchester and Greater Manchester with approximately four miles separating the clubs with City based in east Manchester at the City of Manchester Stadium...

. He kept his place for the remainder of the season, gaining a League Championship medal as part of Manchester City's 1967–68 title-winning side.

Mulhearn started the following season as first choice, but was dropped following a European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 defeat to Fenerbahçe, in which his failure to claim a cross resulted in a winning goal for the Turkish side, leading Malcolm Allison

Malcolm Allison

Malcolm Alexander Allison was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora and cigar, controversies off the pitch and outspoken nature.Allison's managerial potential become...

 to blame him for the defeat. He did not feature again that season, and dropped to third choice behind Dowd and Joe Corrigan

Joe Corrigan

Joseph Thomas Corrigan , is a former football goalkeeper who played for Manchester City and England.-Career:...

. He returned to the first team for brief periods in the 1969–70 season, but by this time Corrigan had become established as a senior player and opportunities were limited. He made his final Manchester City appearance in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 on February 18, 1970. In March 1971 he transferred to Shrewsbury Town, where he made 370 league appearances in nine years. His final club was Crewe Alexandra, where he made 88 appearances before retiring to run a public house in Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...

. He now works as a porter in Shelton Hospital, Shrewsbury.He has a Grandson called Harry Lewis, who is on the Shrewsbury Town books and a grandson called Jack Lewis.