Francis Lee (footballer)

Francis Lee
CBE
Lee with Manchester City, c. 1970
Personal information
Full name Francis Henry Lee
Date of birth (1944-04-29)29 April 1944
Place of birth Westhoughton, Lancashire, England
Date of death 2 October 2023(2023-10-02) (aged 79)
Place of death Manchester, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1967 Bolton Wanderers 189 (92)
1967–1974 Manchester City 249 (112)
1974–1976 Derby County 62 (24)
Total 500 (228)
International career
1968–1972 England 27 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francis Henry Lee CBE (29 April 1944 – 2 October 2023), also known as Franny Lee,[2][3] was an English professional footballer and businessman. He was also later the chairman and main shareholder of Manchester City, as well as briefly a racehorse trainer and amateur cricket player.

A striker, he played for Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City, Derby County and the England national team. Noted for his speed and determination, he scored more than 200 goals in his career, in which he won League Championship medals with Manchester City and Derby. In 2010, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.

Lee holds the English record for the greatest number of penalties scored in a season, a feat that earned him the nickname "Lee 1 (Pen)", because that was the way his name often seemed to appear on the list of goal scorers for City in the match results listings of the Sunday papers. This led to accusations of diving.[4] One such accusation, by Leeds United's Norman Hunter, led to an on-pitch fight.[5]

In 1966, Lee founded F. H. Lee Ltd, a firm that recycled paper to manufacture products such as kitchen roll and toilet paper.[6] It operated until 2003 and made him a millionaire. In 1994, Lee became the major shareholder and chairman of Manchester City, but stepped down four years later.

  1. ^ "Lee, Francis Henry Lee — Footballer". BDFutbol. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Mooney, David (9 October 2014). "Francis Lee and the day that changed history at Manchester City". ESPN. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  5. ^ "The 10... most spectacular dismissals". The Observer. London. 3 August 2003. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Franny firm quits Bolton". The Bolton News. 15 June 1998. Retrieved 2 October 2023.