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Michael David "Mike" Stringfellow (born 27 January 1943 in
Kirkby-in-Ashfield) played 14
seasons as a winger for Leicester City in the 1960s and 1970s. He is the
uncle of fellow footballer Ian Stringfellow.
Stringfellow began his career at Mansfield Town whom he joined as a
schoolboy in 1957. He was a star in Mansfield's youth team, and signed a
professional contract in February 1960, shortly after his 17th
birthday.He made his first-team debut six months later, playing as an
outside-left in the game against Rochdale on 30 August 1960.
Despite his young age, Stringfellow remained a regular in the Mansfield
side, and scored 12 goals in 65 appearances for the Stags, before moving
to Leicester City for £25,000 in January 1962 – the highest transfer
fee ever paid for an 18-year-old at the time.
By his second season at Filbert Street, Stringfellow was a regular in
the Leicester side. He was a member of the Leicester side that lost
against Manchester United in the 1963 FA Cup Final, and scored one of
the goals when the Foxes won the League Cup the following season with a
4–3 aggregate win against Stoke City.
In 1968, Stringfellow suffered a serious cartilage injury, and was never
the same player.
Nevertheless, he remained on Leicester's books, mostly
in a reserve role, until 1975 when he quit the professional game and
finished his career with non-league Nuneaton Borough. In all
competitions, Stringfellow played 377 games for Leicester and scored 98
goals.
After his retirement from football, Stringfellow settled in Enderby,
Leicestershire, where he worked as a newsagent, having earlier run a local pub and worked at the City's Wholesale Market.
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