OXFORD City club legend and former teacher Eric Metcalfe has passed away, the Hoops have announced.
Metcalfe is third on the club’s all-time appearance list having racked up 535 games across a decade representing City.
He played his first match for the club in August 1965, scoring his first goal just a week later in the FA Cup against Maidenhead United, at the White House Ground.
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Metcalfe then represented the club for a further decade, scoring 29 goals, and received a testimonial game at the White House, against Oxford United in 1976.
Hoops director of football Justin Merritt said: “On behalf of everyone at Oxford City Football Club, I would like to pass on our condolences to Eric’s family.
“To play for the club for over 10 seasons demonstrated his huge commitment and talent.
“Amassing over 500 games is extremely rare. Eric was committed to the club even after he hung up his boots and we were incredibly lucky to have someone of his calibre represent our club.”
The Hoops posted a statement online, which read: “Away from football, Eric was also a much-loved teacher and everyone associated with Oxford City FC will miss him.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with Eric’s family, friends and fans who share in grieving one of our all-time greats.”
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Metcalfe’s teaching career helped generations of children, including former Arsenal and England defender Martin Keown.
Speaking in November 2015 after an investment into PE initiatives in primary schools, Keown said: “I was very lucky I had two great PE teachers at school – Nick Brown and Eric Metcalfe – who had such an enthusiasm for sport.
“It is such an important part of people’s lives and quite often the PE teacher is the first time they come into contact with sport.”
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About the author
To sign up to Liam’s latest Oxford United newsletter for free, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/
Formerly the politics reporter for the Oxford Mail, Liam now covers all things Oxford United.
Liam attends the U’s home and away, as well as covering other big sports stories across the county.
His Oxford United newsletter is released every Saturday morning at 6am.