Cheung Chi Doy, a young Chinese footballer, had seen Blackpool FC play during their tour to Hong Kong in 1958. At 14 years old he played youth football for Sin Tao.
He decided he would like to play for the club one day, no doubt liking the prospect of playing alongside stars such as Stanley Matthews (below) and being the first Chinese ethnic player to play in the Football League and indeed in Europe.
Cheung travelled to England in 1960, some how managed to have a trial with the club, then played for the Reserves and was successful. He signed the appropriate club forms, making his debut against Wolves on January 14th 1961, at seaside based Bloomfield Road.
Remarkably, fog enveloped the coastal town and the game was abandoned after 9 minutes. Cheung's historic record in ruined.
However, a week later he did make history, officially, against Bolton Wanderers away and was on the losing side, 1-3. Cheung then had to wait until November 25th 1961, scoring against Sheffield Wednesday, at Hillsborough. He played twice and had a 1 in 2 scoring record!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bia8u5uFuU0
Once he realised that his chances in England were limited, he moved back home. He played for the Chinese Taipei National side, doing the club rounds in Hong Kong (making well over 300 apps overall....102 at Sing Tao 1964-8) and he retired from playing in 1978, having also done the rounds in Canada (Vancouver Royals managed by Bobby Robson) and in the USA, the St Louis Stars.
Cheung then managed in China until 1985.
In 2011 he was arrested and fined for shoplifting in Hong Kong, hence the grumpy face!
Dai Wai-Tsun who played for Wolves U23s in 2017, is the only other Chinese Hing Kong born player to perform in English Football League.
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