Scunthorpe United - Stephen Baines - Nottingham Forest Webjam

Steve Baines might not have been a household name throughout his football career but once his playing career had ended and he made the decision to become a referee he gained more headlines.

Born in Newark he joined his local side Forest as a youth player and would make his league debut at the age of 18 at the end of the 1972/73 season when manager Dave Mackay experimented with a number of younger players once Second Division safety had been secured.

The two games he played in April 1973 would be the total of his Forest career and after two seasons where he failed to add to these appearances it was no surprise when he was released at the end of the 1974/75 season.

Baines signed for Fourth Division side Huddersfield Town who had had a number of lean years since being relegated from Division One along with Forest after the 1971/72 season. Finally he got the chance for regular first team football and further spells at Bradford City and then Walsall cemented his reputation as one of the toughest central defenders in the lower divisions.

He would have to wait unti 1983 before he received any sort of success in the game when he helped Scunthorpe United to promotion from the Fourth Division though by the time promotion had been achieved the manager that had built the team, John Duncan was controversially sacked in February.

Duncan quickly found employment with Chesterfield and it was no surprise that Baines was one of Duncan’s top transfer targets once the season had ended. Baines was appointed Player/Coach on his arrival and would have a successful time at his new club with the highlight being when he captained the side to the 1984/85 Fourth Division title.

An arthritic neck accelerated Baines retirement and after winding his career down in non-league he settled in the Chesterfield area selling insurance. But in an usual move for an ex-player he began to take up refereeing.

He made good progress in the refereeing ranks becoming a Football League assistant in 1994. 12 months later he made the Referees List. Only two other referees had got League appearance – Bob Matthewson and John Lloyd but they had only got five appearances between them.

He served as a Football League referee for eight seasons gaining a good reputation for his low rate of yellow and red cards and whilst most of his games were in the lower divisions he did officiate in some Championship games.

CAREER STATS

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1972/73 to 1974/75 2 (0)

Huddersfield Town 1975/76 to 1977/78 114 (10)

Bradford City 1977/78 to 1979/80 99 (17)

Walsall 1980/81 to 1981/82 48 (5)

Bury (Loan) 1981/82 7 (0)

Scunthorpe United 1982/83 38 (1)

Chesterfield 1983/84 to 1987/88 133 (9)

TOTAL 441 (42)

NFFC SEASON BY SEASON

1972/73 League 2 (0)

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