Name: Roger William Holmes
Seasons Played: 1959/60-1969/70, 1971/72
Position: Inside-forward/wing-half
Date of Birth: 09.09.1942
Birthplace: Scunthorpe
League Debut: 18.04.1960, Brighton & Hove Albion (a), Div 2
League Games: 276+2
League Goals: 36
Career: Limestone Rangers, LCFC, Lincoln United, Skellingthorpe.

Roger Holmes was one of City's star players of the 1960s. A talented and creative midfield player, he was regularly reported to be a target for bigger clubs but he remained loyal to the Imps and went on to play in over 300 League and Cup games for the Club.

Holmes, whose father prayed for the top amateur team Hallam in the period before the war, showed interest in football from an early age playing for Brigg Grammar School under 14 team at the age of 11.

He went on to captain the school team and appeared for the Lincolnshire Grammar Schools team by which time he had already been spotted by the Imps.

He began training at Sincil Bank in the school holidays but also played for his local club Limestone Rangers and was a member of the team that swept the honours board in the Gainsborough League in the 1957/58 season.

Whilst still at school he made his debut for City reserves shortly before his 16th birthday. He left school with a total of 13 'O' levels and went to train as an industrial chemist for a Scunthorpe steel works where his work involved analysing steel.

He signed for the Imps as a part-time professional when he was 17 and his talents won him a place in City's first team towards the end of the 1959/60 season when he made his debut at Brighton.

He also played in the next two games against Scunthorpe and Derby and was then introduced slowly into senior football over the next few seasons.

The Imps slumped down the League to the lower reaches of the Fourth Division but Holmes continued to display his neat skills in the middle of the park.

Despite the Club's troubles both on and off the field Holmes remained at Sincil Bank and was still there when Ron Gray took over as manager in 1966.

Holmes began scoring goals on a regular basis and finished the 1967/68 campaign as top scorer with 14. However, towards the end of the season he suffered a bad injury at Bradford Park Avenue in a match the Imps won 5-1.

When he returned to action the following September he had only played a few games when he suffered a broken keg playing against York at Sincil Bank.

Both bones in the leg were fractured and it wasn't until the spring of 1970 that he returned to first team action. He was never quite the same player again and having realised the insecurity of a footballing career he took the opportunity to join a local finance company.

He spent 25 years with the Lombard Finance Company working his way up from a position as a rep to manager of the Grantham branch before eventually managing the Sheffield and Manchester offices. He took early retirement and returned to live in Lincoknshire.

On leaving the professional game he coached City's youth team under Graham Taylor for a while and was later involved in coaching a number of clubs including Normanby Park Works, Bottesford Town and Alfreton Town Under 18s.

Profile adapted from an original article that appeared in the official Lincoln City FC match day programme, season 2000/01.