Mark Lazarus

Mark Lazarus (5 December 1938 – 29 July 2025) was an English professional footballer.

Lazarus played as a right winger and made more than 400 Football League appearances, scoring over 100 goals. A prominent Jewish player, he initially chose football over boxing and followed manager Alec Stock first to Leyton Orient and then Queens Park Rangers. He transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a club record fee, but due to a clash with manager Stan Cullis, he moved back to QPR after only nine games. He then played for Brentford before signing again for Queens Park Rangers. In his third stint with QPR he scored the winning goal for the club in the 1967 League Cup Final. He moved to Crystal Palace in December 1967. He said, of growing up in a Jewish family, "There was no antisemitism in the East End – that came later when we moved to Chadwell Heath, in Essex, when I was six. We were the only Jewish family in the area and I had fights every day on the way to school." He did not get on with Wolves manager Stan Cullis and the two suffered from a clash of personalities.

He moved back to QPR once more, who were in the Football League Third Division. Lazarus was involved in the cup run the team went on in the League Cup. In the fifth round, he set up both the QPR goals as they defeated Carlisle United 2–1. He scored the third goal against Birmingham City in the first leg of the semi-final, which was also the first time QPR had won in an away match in the League Cup. The two legged semi-final win took them to the final of the 1967 League Cup where they faced cup holders West Bromwich Albion. Having gone two goals down by half time, the QPR team staged a comeback during the second half. With nine minutes of the game remaining, Ron Hunt collided with the WBA goalkeeper, knocking the ball loose. Lazarus latched onto the loose ball and slammed it into the back of an empty net, his team winning the match and trophy 3–2. A£15,000 offer was placed by Reading for the player's services, but he decided not to move clubs. He spent a further year at QPR before being transferred to Crystal Palace for £10,000 Like Rangers, Palace were aiming for promotion at the time and manager Bert Head convinced Lazarus to move clubs. His three spells at QPR set a record at the time for occasions a player had transferred back to the same side. the club were promoted out of Division Three as winners during the 1969–70 season. He finished his career in non-league football, with Folkestone, Ilford and Wingate & Finchley. As of 2007, he ran a haulage firm in Romford.

Lazarus died on 29 July 2025, at the age of 86. He had been in hospital with a serious illness.

Honours Queens Park Rangers Football League Third Division: 1966–67 Football League Cup: 1967

Crystal Palace Football League Second Division runner-up: 1968–69

Leyton Orient Football League Third Division: 1969–70