Mike Bickle (footballer)
{{Short description|English footballer (1944–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mike Bickle
| image =
| full_name = Michael John Bickle
| birth_date = {{birth date|1944|1|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = Plymouth, Devon, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|11|22|1944|1|25|df=y}}
| death_place = Plymouth, Devon, England
| position = Striker
| years1 =
| clubs1 = St Austell
| caps1 =
| goals1 =
| years2 = 1965–1971
| clubs2 = Plymouth Argyle
| caps2 = 179
| goals2 = 71
| years3 = 1971–1973
| clubs3 = Gillingham
| caps3 = 32
| goals3 = 7
}}
Michael John Bickle (25 January 1944 – 22 November 2023) was an English professional footballer. A striker, he played for Plymouth Argyle and Gillingham between 1965 and 1973, before his career was cut short by injury.
Career
Bickle was born in Plymouth but began his footballing career playing semi-professionally for St Austell of the South Western Football League while working as a milkman.{{cite web|url=https://www.fchd.info/ST-AUSTE.HTM|title=St Austell|publisher=The Football Club History Database|access-date=8 November 2008}}{{cite book | first=Roger|last= Triggs | title=The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club| publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd | year=2001| isbn=0-7524-2243-X|pages=60}} Playing as a striker, he gained a reputation as a highly prolific goalscorer, attracting the attention of professional clubs, and in December 1965, at the age of nearly 22, turned professional with his hometown team, Plymouth Argyle, then of the Football League Second Division. He adjusted quickly to the higher level of football and scored 9 goals in just 17 games in his first season. He went on to be the club's top goalscorer for the following four consecutive seasons, and in total scored 71 goals in 179 league matches, but was unable to save the club from relegation to the Football League Third Division in the 1967–68 season.{{cite book | first=Barry J.|last= Hugman | title=Canon League Football Players' Records 1946-1984| publisher=Newnes Books | year=1984| isbn=0-600-37318-5|pages=39}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fchd.info/PLYMOUTA.HTM|title=Plymouth Argyle|publisher=The Football Club History Database|access-date=8 November 2008}} In November 1971 Gillingham manager Andy Nelson, who had played alongside Bickle at Home Park, signed him for the Kent-based club, after weeks of press speculation, for a fee of around £7,000.
Bickle's arrival at Priestfield Stadium saw him replacing Tommy Watson in a team struggling after relegation to the Football League Fourth Division, and he began his Gillingham career strongly, with two goals in his first five matches. He finished the 1971–72 season with seven goals to his name, making him the team's third-highest scorer.{{cite book | first=Tony|last= Brown | title=The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record| publisher=Soccerdata| year=2003| isbn=1-899468-20-X|pages=81}} Just six matches into the following season, however, he suffered a neck injury in a match against Stockport County which kept him out of action for over two months. He made his comeback against Reading in the FA Cup in November 1972,{{cite book | first=Tony|last= Brown | title=The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record| pages=82}} but injured his shoulder during his comeback match and never played for the team again. In January 1973 he accepted the advice of a medical specialist and retired from the sport. He returned to his native West Country, where he worked in a dockyard before retiring around 2010.{{cite web | url=https://plymouth.vitalfootball.co.uk/where-are-they-now-mike-bickle/ | title=Where Are They Now - Mike Bickle | date=25 November 2013 }}
Death
Bickle died on 22 November 2023, at the age of 79.{{cite news |title=Mike Bickle 1944–2023 |url=https://www.pafc.co.uk/news/mike-bickle-1944-2023 |access-date=22 November 2023 |publisher=PAFC |date=22 November 2023}}[https://funeral-notices.co.uk/south%20west-cornwall/death-notices/notice/bickle/5162078?photo=start Michael Bickle]