Former Chester player Geoff Coffin has died at the age of 90. Predominantly a centre forward he made 151 Division Three North appearances for the club between 1947 and 1955 and scored 35 goals. He will best be remembered for scoring the opening goal in the FA Cup Third Round tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 1952. Chester drew that game 2-2 and in the replay at Sealand Road, in front of the club’s highest ever home attendance, he was again on target with the second goal in a narrow 3-2 defeat.

As a youngster Geoff represented Chester schoolboys and also played for Heath Rangers. At the age of 17 he joined the navy and appeared for Plymouth Argyle who wanted to sign him at the end of the war but he returned to Chester and signed as a part-time player for his local club. During the 1947/48 season he made an impression in the Cheshire County League side, where he was leading scorer, and made a goalscoring debut for the first team in a 4-1 victory over Carlisle United in October 1947.

Geoff made intermittent appearances for the first team over the next two seasons but became a more regular fixture during the 1949/50 season. Although most of his appearances were as a centre forward his aerial ability meant he was equally adept at playing centre half and towards the end of the 1951/52 season he displaced Eric Lee in the centre of defence. Unusually, manager Frank Brown also deployed him in an early version of the sweeper role behind Lee for some games.

He made his final appearance for the club in the last game of the 1954/55 season at Barnsley and signed for Winsford United in the Cheshire County League during the summer. At the end of the following season he was awarded a joint testimonial with Ray Gill against a Bert Trautmann X1. After playing for Winsford he signed for Ellesmere Port Town and was a member of their team that won the Championship and the Cheshire Senior Cup at the end of the 1950s. He finished his football career playing for Caernarvon for a season in the early sixties.

Away from football Geoff worked in sales for John Summers Steelworks and was a keen golfer. He spent a year as captain at Vicars Cross Golf Club and was also on the board of directors.

The club send out their condolences to his family and friends.

Chas Sumner [10/4/15]