Henry Richard "Harry" Cripps (29 April 1941 – 29 December 1995) was an English professional footballer who played for South East London side Millwall for the majority of his career, becoming a cult figure in the process.
Cripps was signed by The Lions in 1961 and made his first team debut on 19 August 1961 against Wrexham following an injury to Johnny Gilchrist. He rapidly became a fan favourite due to his bustling, combative performances at full back, always looking to get forward and score goals, and becoming renowned as a fearless tackler. He was particularly prominent during Millwall's successive promotion seasons in the mid-1960s, during which time the team began an unbeaten home record at The Den which extended to 59 matches (1964–1967), drawing on the intimidating atmosphere generated by Millwall's famously vociferous fans.[citation needed]
This period saw the club return to Division Two after a lengthy absence, under the guidance of Manager Billy Gray and later, Benny Fenton. He was also a key part of what was perhaps Millwall's greatest ever side that narrowly missed out on promotion to the old Division One by just one point, during the 1971–72 season, that also included the likes of Barry Kitchener, Keith Weller and Eamon Dunphy. He left the club after fourteen seasons to join Charlton in 1974, by which time he had amassed a record-breaking 400 league appearances for The Lions, beating the record of Jimmy Forsyth of 321 Football League appearances.
He later became a coach at Crystal Palace, as well as assistant manager at Charlton and manager of Barking between August 1980 and January 1982.[2] In February 1990, Cripps was appointed manager of Purfleet. Cripps only managed a single game for Purfleet, a 4–0 Isthmian League defeat against Woking on 9 February 1990, having a stroke soon after.[3] He was also a coach in the contrasting environment of Winchester College, an elite fee-paying College.
Death
Cripps died of a heart attack on 29 December 1995.[4]
harry, cripps, henry, richard, harry, cripps, april, 1941, december, 1995, english, professional, footballer, played, south, east, london, side, millwall, majority, career, becoming, cult, figure, process, personal, informationfull, namehenry, richard, cripps,. Henry Richard Harry Cripps 29 April 1941 29 December 1995 was an English professional footballer who played for South East London side Millwall for the majority of his career becoming a cult figure in the process Harry CrippsPersonal informationFull nameHenry Richard Cripps 1 Date of birth 1941 04 29 29 April 1941Place of birthDereham EnglandDate of death29 December 1995 1995 12 29 aged 54 Place of deathWanstead EnglandPosition s DefenderSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1958 1961West Ham United0 0 1961 1974Millwall400 37 1974 1976Charlton Athletic20 4 Managerial career1980 1982Barking1990Purfleet Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Career 2 Death 3 Tributes 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditInitially on the books of Millwall s bitter rivals West Ham United he was a member of the FA Youth Cup Final team of 1958 59 alongside Bobby Moore Eddie Bovington and Jack Burkett Cripps was signed by The Lions in 1961 and made his first team debut on 19 August 1961 against Wrexham following an injury to Johnny Gilchrist He rapidly became a fan favourite due to his bustling combative performances at full back always looking to get forward and score goals and becoming renowned as a fearless tackler He was particularly prominent during Millwall s successive promotion seasons in the mid 1960s during which time the team began an unbeaten home record at The Den which extended to 59 matches 1964 1967 drawing on the intimidating atmosphere generated by Millwall s famously vociferous fans citation needed This period saw the club return to Division Two after a lengthy absence under the guidance of Manager Billy Gray and later Benny Fenton He was also a key part of what was perhaps Millwall s greatest ever side that narrowly missed out on promotion to the old Division One by just one point during the 1971 72 season that also included the likes of Barry Kitchener Keith Weller and Eamon Dunphy He left the club after fourteen seasons to join Charlton in 1974 by which time he had amassed a record breaking 400 league appearances for The Lions beating the record of Jimmy Forsyth of 321 Football League appearances He later became a coach at Crystal Palace as well as assistant manager at Charlton and manager of Barking between August 1980 and January 1982 2 In February 1990 Cripps was appointed manager of Purfleet Cripps only managed a single game for Purfleet a 4 0 Isthmian League defeat against Woking on 9 February 1990 having a stroke soon after 3 He was also a coach in the contrasting environment of Winchester College an elite fee paying College Death EditCripps died of a heart attack on 29 December 1995 4 Tributes EditArry s Bar at The Den is named in his honour 5 References Edit Harry Cripps Barry Hugman s Footballers Retrieved 14 May 2015 Archive Past Managers Archived 16 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine Barking F C Cripps is hit by a stroke London Evening Standard 12 February 1990 p 59 Harry Cripps Profile of the Millwall Hard man Archived from the original on 10 October 2012 Retrieved 23 December 2013 IPSO Enter The Lion s Den International Professional Scouting Organisation Retrieved 12 March 2018 External links EditMillwall Hall of Fame profile Arry s Bar at Millwall FC Obituary in The Independent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harry Cripps amp oldid 1136733729, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
