Martin Harvey was a Northern Irish 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 for Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 and the Northern Ireland national football team

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

 as a wing half

Wing half

In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...

.

Club career

He played for local side Boyland F.C. and with a trial spell with Burnley

Burnley F.C.

Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

 before signing for Sunderland in 1959. His debut for the club came on 24 October 1959 against Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 in a 0–0 draw at Home Park

Home Park

Home Park is an all-seater football stadium in the Central Park area of Plymouth, England, and is the home of Football League Two club Plymouth Argyle. The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Greens by the club's supporters, has been Argyle's permanent residence since 1901...

. In total he made 314 league appearances, scoring five goals while at Sunderland.

In the late sixties, alongside Jimmy Montgomery

Jimmy Montgomery

Jimmy Montgomery is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made a record 627 appearances for his hometown club Sunderland with 537 of these appearances being in the league, after joining the club as a youngster in 1960.-Football career:He made his debut aged only 18 against Walsall,...

, Cecil Irwin, Len Ashurst

Len Ashurst

Len Ashurst is a former footballer, manager and football administrator in England.-Career:As a player, Ashurst was a left-sided defender. He joined Liverpool in 1953 as an apprentice. After being released, he joined Sunderland in 1957, where he would go on to spend 14 years...

, Charlie Hurley

Charlie Hurley

Charles John Hurley born 4 October 1936) was a centre back. He began his career at Millwall, where his term at The Den was disrupted by injury which certainly delayed his debut on the international stage. Hurley is best remembered from his time at Sunderland, where he was named the Black Cats'...

 and Jim McNab

Jim McNab

Jim McNab was a footballer with Sunderland, Preston North End and Stockport County.He began his career at Sunderland, making 285 League appearances and scoring 13 goals between 1958 and 1967...

, Harvey formed one of the most notable and most settled back fives in Sunderland's history.

International career

Harvey won his first international cap for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

 on 25 April 1961 against Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

in a 3–2 defeat. His international career spanned from 1961 until 1971 where he made 34 caps, scoring 3 goals.

External links

• Martin Harvey, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database