Background
Mannion was born on 16 May 1918 in South Bank, the son of Irish immigrants Tommy and Mary Mannion, and one of 10 children.
Mannion was born on 16 May 1918 in South Bank, the son of Irish immigrants Tommy and Mary Mannion, and one of 10 children.
He also played international football for England. With his blonde hair, he was nicknamed "The Golden Boy". He joined his local team F.C. in 1936 and went on to make 341 Football League appearances for them, scoring on 99 occasions.
Mannion fought in France and Italy during World World War World War II At the end of the 1947-1948 season he wanted a transfer, but refused.
In protest he did not play for them for much of the following season but he eventually backed down and started playing for again. He was capped on 26 occasions by the England national football team between 1946 and 1951, and his final appearance came on 3 October 1951.
After initially retiring as a player in 1954, Mannion subsequently joined Hull City. However, the Football League suspended him for articles he had written, and he left to play non-league football with Poole Town.
He also had an unsuccessful spell as manager of Cambridge United.
Mannion died on 14 April 2000 at the age of 81. In 2004 it was announced he was being inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum.