Mike Bickle

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Death Bickle died on 22 November 2023, at the age of 79.