BAZ BALL

MICHAEL GRIMES ON THE REMARKABLE CAREER OF FOOTBALLER-TURNED-PHYSIO MICK RATHBONE...

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LOOKING through an old album from 1977-78, each sticker is not just a 'want', 'got', 'double' or 'swap', but also a window into a split second of a career long since ended and, in some unfortunate cases, a life gone too.

Checking through the Birmingham City squad of that time, the portraits of Trevor Francis, Howard Kendall and Jimmy Calderwood give testament to the latter case.

However, on the bottom row is a player in the away yellow strip, track suit top on, smiling in the sun prior to kickoff. A native Brummie, he only made 20 appearances for his local side before transferring to Blackburn Rovers.

Mick 'Baz' Rathbone, nicknamed after film star and namesake Basil, made over 250 appearances for Rovers as a reliable left-back, joining neighbours Preston before injury ended his career.