Spike Rawlings

Spike Rawlings
Personal information
Full name John Anderson Rawlinson
Date of birth (1944-04-07)7 April 1944
Place of birth Wallsend, England
Date of death 14 March 2006(2006-03-14) (aged 61)
Place of death Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Position(s) Centre half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1965 Bury 2 (0)
1965–1966 Barrow 19 (2)
1966–1968 Runcorn
1968–1969 Barrow 0 (0)
Total 21 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Spike Rawlings (birth name John Anderson Rawlinson; 7 April 1944 – 14 March 2006) was an English professional footballer who later became a TV entertainer after retiring as a sportsman.

Career

Football career

After playing for amateur side Corinthian Juniors, Rawlinson - who played as a centre half - made his professional debut for Bury during the 1964–65 season, making a total of two League appearances that season.[1] After the football season finished, Rawlinson moved to Barrow. During the 1965–66 season, Rawlinson scored two goals in nineteen League games for Barrow.[1] Rawlinson later played non-league football for Runcorn, and eventually returned to Barrow (although he never appeared in a first team League game for the club again), where he got his first taste of showbiz in 1969 - after the half-time entertainment failed to show up, Rawlinson stepped in and performed instead.[2]

Entertainment career

After finishing his career as a professional footballer, Rawlinson adopted the stage name of Spike Rawlings. His early career was spent warming audiences up on local TV show Those Wonderful TV Times.[2] Rawlings achieved fame by winning the 1976 edition of TV talent show Opportunity Knocks, which allowed him to have his own TV show.[2] Rawlings later had a small part on When the Boat Comes In, and he regularly acted in pantomimes.[2][3]

Later life

During the late 1980s and 1990s, Rawlings suffered from financial issues.[2] He died in March 2006 in hospital, awaiting a liver transplant.[2] A charity night, organised by his children Matthew and Catherine, was held in October 2006 in Rawlings' memory.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Player profile". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Paul McMillan (16 March 2006). "Farewell Spike". The Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Remember when: Barbara Windsor teams up with Spike Rawlings for panto". 7 August 2013.
  4. ^ Craig Hope (2 August 2006). "Charity night will celebrate Spike". The Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 9 October 2009.