The Football Hall of Fame WA is saddened to learn of the passing of former State team captain Mike Ireson. A two-time State League player of the year, Mike passed away following a short illness on Sunday 6th April, aged 85.
Mike kicked off his footballing journey in Bournemouth as a part-time professional in the English Third Division. In late 1962 he migrated to Perth and was quickly snapped up by the powerful North Perth club, playing at inside-right or wide on the flank.
In a successful State League career, Mike wore the colours of North Perth (1963-1964), Inglewood Kiev (1964-1965), Olympic Kingsway (1966-1968) and East Fremantle Tricolore (1968-1971). He would later return to Olympic in a player-coach capacity.
Mike won the Carbonell Cup as the league’s player of the year in 1966 and backed up it twelve months later by sharing the prestigious award with Windmills stalwart Theo Paap. His career included one First Division championship, two D’Orsogna Cup and three Top Four Cup successes.
Mike gained State team selection on twenty occasions, wearing the captain’s armband for twelve of those. In February 1965 he was one of six West Australia selected to play for an Australia XI against the visiting Torpedo Moscow side at the WACA Ground.
Described as “the ideal player – a thinker, a tactician, a skillful dribbler with a deceptive change of pace, and a good marksman into the bargain” in the 1967 SFWA yearbook, Mike was inducted into the Hall of Champions in 2002.