Joe Mayo

Joseph Mayo (born 25 May 1952) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with Walsall but struggled to break into the first team, joining West Bromwich Albion where he won promotion to the First Division in 1976. He later played for Leyton Orient, Cambridge United and Blackpool.

Joe Mayo
Personal information
Full name Joseph Mayo[1]
Date of birth (1952-05-25)25 May 1952
Place of birth Tipton, England
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1973 Walsall 7 (1)
1973–1977 West Bromwich Albion 72 (16)
1977–1981 Leyton Orient 155 (36)
1981–1982 Cambridge United 36 (16)
1982 → Blackpool (loan) 5 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Tipton, Mayo never played football at school and only took up playing in his teens when he began playing local amateur football. He was spotted by Ken Hodgkisson who signed him for non-league side Dudley Town. However, Mayo "never really thought about" becoming a professional footballer and had begun working as a trainee accountant at Brookhouse Steel where he made copies of ledgers.[2]

While at Dudley, Mayo had an unsuccessful trial with Oxford United before being offered a trial with Walsall. He appeared for the club's reserve side in the Midland Intermediate League before being offered a professional contract in September 1972, at which time he left his accounting job.[2] He made his professional debut for Walsall and appeared in seven league matches for the club but spent the majority of his time in the reserve side. During a reserve match against West Bromwich Albion, the club he supported, Mayo scored a hat-trick which convinced West Brom manager Don Howe to sign Mayo for £17,000 in February 1973.[2] He made his debut for the club in September 1973 as a substitute during a match against Hull City.[3] He made over 90 appearances in all competitions for West Brom,[2] helping the club achieve promotion to the First Division in the 1975–76 season.[3]

In March 1977, he joined Leyton Orient along with Allan Glover in a transfer deal that saw Laurie Cunningham move in the opposite direction.[4] A year later, he was part of the Orient side that reached the semi-final of the FA Cup before losing to Arsenal.[2] He joined Cambridge United in September 1981 for a fee of £100,000 where he finished his professional career in 1983.[3]

Personal life

Following his retirement from football, Mayo moved to North Wales and took ownership of the Plas Isa Hotel in Criccieth. He later worked in the tobacco industry.[3] In 2015, Mayo appeared on series twelve of the reality television game show, Coach Trip, being named winner in the final.[5][6] In 2017, he appeared on the ITV quiz show, The Chase, and made it through to the Final Chase, but he and his remaining teammate were caught by chaser Jenny Ryan with one second remaining.[7]

References
  1. "Joe Mayo". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  2. Lee McLaughlin (28 March 2004). "A Blast from the Past; Former Albion star Joe Mayo tells Lee McLaughlam how he became an accidental footballer..." Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 13 April 2018 – via The Free Library.
  3. "Joe Mayo". West Bromwich Albion Former Players' Association. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  4. "O's through the years". Leyton Orient F.C. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  5. Alistair Robertson; Bill Howell (2017). Thou Shalt Not Pass: The Alistair Robertson Story. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1785313059.
  6. Adam Ellis (2 November 2015). "Where Are They Now? Leyton Orient's 1978 braces team". The Football League paper. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  7. Chris Lepkowski (17 October 2018). "The Quiz King - Old Baggies". Old Baggies Former Players Association. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
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