Brian Mills (footballer)

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Brian Mills
Personal information
Full name Brian Mills[1]
Date of birth (1971-12-26) 26 December 1971 (age 52)[1]
Place of birth Stone, Staffordshire, England[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1986–1990 Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1993 Port Vale 23 (4)
Total 23 (4)
International career
1991 England U19 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Mills (born 26 December 1971) is an English former footballer. A forward who scored four goals in 23 games for Port Vale in the Football League, his brief professional career was ended by illness in 1993.

Career

Mills joined

Andrew Cole.[1][3] He scored three goals in 27 league and cup games in 1991–92, as the "Valiants" suffered relegation out of the Second Division.[1] He scored in a 2–1 home win over Notts County on 24 September 1991, in the first leg of the First Round of the League Cup.[1] He also scored in a 1–1 home draw with Charlton Athletic on 21 April 1992, and also found the net in a 4–2 defeat to Cambridge United at the Abbey Stadium four days later.[1]

Mills was hospitalized in March 1992 with transverse myelitis and was released from his contract in September 1993; still not fit to play full-time.[1][4] Still only 21 and with a mere 23 league appearances and four goals to his name, he never played professional football again due to the damage to his spinal cord caused by the disease.[1][3] The disease meant he was restricted to crutches for the rest of his life, though he said "I can swim, ride a bike, lift weights but I just can't walk".[4]

Post-retirement

After leaving the professional game, he graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Physics and Sports Science and became a schoolteacher.[3] He also became a keen powerlifter, winning West Midlands bench press titles in the 69 kg class and becoming the British Masters 1 unequipped bench press champion.[3]

Career statistics

Source:[5]

Club Season Division League FA Cup
League Cup
 Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Port Vale 1990–91 Second Division 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
1991–92 Second Division 21 2 1 0 3 1 2 0 27 3
1992–93 Second Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 23 4 1 0 3 1 2 0 29 5

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-9529152-0-0
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-356-17911-7
    . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Brian Mills: the OVF interview". onevalefan.co.uk. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "The Brian Mills Interview". The Vale Park Beano. 113.
  5. ^ Brian Mills at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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