Kevin Kilmore

Kevin Kilmore (born 11 November 1959) is an English former footballer who scored 81 goals from 334 appearances in the Football League playing for Scunthorpe United, Grimsby Town, Rotherham United and Lincoln City. He played as a forward or midfielder.[3] He also played in Belgium for K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel, but never appeared in the league,[4] and non-league football for Gainsborough Trinity.[3]

Kevin Kilmore
Personal information
Full name Kevin Kilmore[1]
Date of birth (1959-11-11) 11 November 1959[1]
Place of birth Scunthorpe,[1] Lincolnshire, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward / midfielder
Youth career
– Scunthorpe United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1979 Scunthorpe United 102 (28)
1979–1983 Grimsby Town 102 (27)
1983–1985 Rotherham United 84 (20)
1985–1986 K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel 0 (0)
1986–1987 Lincoln City 46 (6)
1987–19?? Gainsborough Trinity
National team
1977–1978 England youth 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and career

Kilmore was born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire,[5] where he played for Crosby Colts[6] before joining his local Football League club, Scunthorpe United, as an apprentice. He made his debut for Scunthorpe at the age of 17, in February 1977, and played regularly for the first team thereafter.[5] In the 1977–78 season, he was capped three times for the England youth team and scored once, in a friendly match against Hungary youth.[7] He played in every game for Scunthorpe during 1978–79 and scored 17 goals, a return which made him the club's top scorer.[5]

Just after the start of the next season, Kilmore was sold to Grimsby Town, newly promoted to the Third Division, for a £60,000 fee, a record fee for both clubs.[8][9] He and strike partner Kevin Drinkell contributed 31 goals as Grimsby won the division to earn a second successive promotion:[10] in a Grimsby Telegraph retrospective of the 1979–80 season, Kilmore was described as "one of the best penalty box players the club has ever seen".[11] Grimsby came close to an unprecedented third consecutive promotion in 1980–81,[12] eventually finishing seventh in the Second Division.

In January 1983, Kilmore broke his jaw in a car crash.[13] He left the club at the end of that season, to follow manager George Kerr to Rotherham United, newly relegated to the Third Division. He spent two seasons with Rotherham: in his first, he scored 21 goals in all competitions, but only 7 the following year.[14]

In the 1985 close season, Kilmore moved to Belgium where he joined Second Division club K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel on a semi-professional basis. He played twice as a substitute in cup matches, but never appeared in the league, and returned to England with Lincoln City in January 1986.[4][15] His four goals failed to save Lincoln from relegation to the Fourth Division,[1] and he left the club at the end of the 1986–87 season, when Lincoln became the first club to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League into the Football Conference.[1][16]

After he retired from football, Kilmore and wife Christine kept pubs in Scunthorpe.[17][18] Latterly, he's taken over the Pack Horse in Louth, Lincolnshire.[19]

References
  1. "Kevin Kilmore". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  2. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. "Kevin Kilmore". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  4. "Seizoensoverzicht Verbroedering Geel KFC 1985–86" [Season overview Verbroedering Geel KFC 1985–86]. Belgian Soccer Database (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 April 2013. (registration required)
  5. Michael, Norton. "The Iron Alphabet". Scunthorpe United F.C. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012.
  6. "55 years of football for our Roy of the Rovers". Scunthorpe Telegraph. 8 March 2005. p. 14.
  7. "Kevin Kilmore". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  8. Steels, Bob (15 December 2010). "United's former goal king raises a glass of claret to past glories". Scunthorpe Telegraph. pp. 34–35.
  9. Precious, Graham (12 February 2013). "Mariners Memories: 'Drinks' all round as Grimsby Town clinch Division Three title in 1980". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  10. "Strikers delivering the goods can join elite list of Mariners". Grimsby Telegraph. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  11. Ford, Geoff (22 January 2000). "What a season – 1979–80 had everything". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. p. 25.
  12. Atkin, Ronald (5 April 1981). "No time for stars". The Observer. London. p. 23. In Grimsby the buses are on strike, the fishing industry is moribund but the football team is doing very well, thank you. So well that in a few weeks' time they may make history by becoming the first club to advance from the Fourth to First Division in three successive seasons.
  13. Russell, Stuart (22 January 2000). "Leisure Centre gave a new lease of life". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. p. 11.
  14. "A–Z Past Players". Rotherham United F.C. Archived from the original (MS Word document) on 8 February 2012.
  15. "Nicholl is cleared". The Times. London. 3 January 1986. p. 19. Lincoln City are to bring the former Grimsby Town player Kevin Kilmore back into English football following a short spell as a semi-professional in Belgium.
  16. "Record Breakers & Makers: 1967–1987". Lincoln City F.C. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  17. "Kev turns Poacher". Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. 1 September 2005. p. 10.
  18. "Pubs braced for Wembley celebrations". Scunthorpe Telegraph. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  19. http://www.louthleader.co.uk/news/local/grimsby-town-fc-legend-takes-over-at-the-pack-horse-in-louth-1-6845505
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