Mark Lazarus

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Mark Lazarus
Personal information
Date of birth (1938-12-05) 5 December 1938 (age 85)
Place of birth Stepney, London, England
Position(s) winger
Youth career
?–1958 Barking
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1958–1960 Leyton Orient 20 (4)
1960–1961 Queens Park Rangers 37 (19)
1961–1962 Wolverhampton Wanderers 9 (3)
1962–1964 Queens Park Rangers 81 (28)
1964–1966 Brentford 62 (20)
1966–1967 Queens Park Rangers 88 (29)
1967–1969 Crystal Palace 63 (17)
1969–1972 Leyton Orient 82 (14)
1972–1977 Folkestone 164 (17)
Ilford
Wingate & Finchley
Total 606 (151)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mark Lazarus (born 5 December 1938) is an English retired professional footballer.

He played as a right winger and made more than 400

1967 League Cup Final. He moved to Crystal Palace in December 1967.[1]
He moved back to Leyton Orient, before moving onto non-league football where he saw out his football career.

Biography

Lazarus, who is Jewish, was born on 5 December 1938 in

East End – that came later when we moved to Chadwell Heath, in Essex, when I was six. We were the only Jewish family in the area and I had fights every day on the way to school."[3] Two of his brothers were boxers, one of whom, Lew Lazar, fought for the British title at welterweight and middleweight. He initially followed his brothers into boxing, having fought a few amateur fights. At the request of his father Isaac, he became an apprentice upholsterer in order to ensure that he had a trade once any potential sporting career ended.[3]

He was also a schoolboy player for both

Wingate Football Club, which was all Jewish.[2]

Football career

Lazarus began his career with Barking, before becoming a professional in 1958 with Leyton Orient. He was spotted by Orient manager Alec Stock, who two years later took Lazarus from Orient to Queens Park Rangers after the manager had moved clubs first.[3]

After playing for QPR, he was transferred to

George McLeod.[4][5]

He moved back to QPR once more, who were in the

1967 League Cup where they faced cup holders West Bromwich Albion. Having gone two goals down by half time, the QPR team staged a comeback during the second half. With nine minutes of the game remaining, Ron Hunt collided with the WBA goalkeeper, knocking the ball loose. Lazarus latched onto the loose ball and slammed it into the back of an empty net,[8] his team winning the match and trophy 3–2.[3][9] A£15,000 offer was placed by Reading for the player's services, but he decided not to move clubs.[10] He spent a further year at QPR before being transferred to Crystal Palace for £10,000[4] in December 1967.[1] Like Rangers, Palace were aiming for promotion at the time and manager Bert Head convinced Lazarus to move clubs.[3] Lazarus made 39 appearances in season 1968–69, in which Palace achieved promotion to the top flight for the first time.[11]
His three spells at QPR set a record at the time for occasions a player had transferred back to the same side.[5] After he moved back to Orient for a fee of £8,000, in October 1969[1][12] the club were promoted out of Division Three as winners during the 1969–70 season.[4] Lazarus was fined £75 in January 1971 for receiving five yellow cards whilst playing for Orient over a 12-month period.[13] He finished his career in non-league football, with Folkestone, Ilford and Wingate & Finchley.[3]

Later life

After his footballer career was over, he became a minder for snooker players, including Steve Davis at the time of his loss to Dennis Taylor in the 1985 World Snooker Championship final.[14] As of 2007, he ran a haulage firm in Romford.[4]

Lazarus was named in a list of the top 100 Queens Park Rangers players of all time, constructed by the club's historian in 2007.[4]

Personal life

He married his wife Fay in 1959, and has two children and five grandchildren.[3] His nephew is former Leyton Orient footballer Bobby Fisher.[15]

Honours

Queens Park Rangers
Crystal Palace
Leyton Orient
  • Football League Third Division: 1969–70

See also

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b Stanford, Peter (22 September 2013). "Why are there so few British-born Jewish players in England's top flight?". The Independent. London.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Yaffe, Simon (2011). "Footballing Legend of 50 Years Ago Cost £27,500". Jewish Telegraph. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  4. ^ .
  5. ^ a b "Sport: Q & A - The many returns of Lazarus . . . and keeping it in the family". The Independent. London. 12 December 1993. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Q.P.R. Survive Pressure". The Times. No. 56809. 8 December 1966. p. 5.
  7. ^ "Composed Ability Takes Q.P.R. Nearer Wembley". The Times. No. 56842. 18 January 1967. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Successful Gamble on Wembley". The Times. No. 56882. 6 March 1967. p. 6.
  9. ^ "Top 10 League Cup Finals". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Lazarus May Move". The Times. No. 57102. 18 November 1967. p. 6.
  11. .
  12. ^ "Ron Davies Named but Doubtful". The Times. No. 57691. 15 October 1969. p. 13.
  13. ^ "£75 Fine for Lazarus". The Times. No. 58083. 27 January 1971. p. 10.
  14. ^ Trelford, Donald (25 April 2005). "What sparked Taylor's revival?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  15. .

External links

  • Mark Lazarus at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database