Biography
Chris Lee joined the Tigers on a free transfer in July 1993 and was quickly introduced to the City midfield by manager Terry Dolan. While Lee’s hard working spirit and commitment to tackling were not questioned, his wider ability was sometimes seen as lacking. Add into the mix that he was the son of combustible assistant manager Jeff Lee and Chris’s selection was at times questioned more than most. In his first month in the first team Lee scored twice in an exciting 4-3 win at Cardiff City as the Tigers spent September 1993 at the top of the table, but that brace did not presage a flood of further goals and by the winter months Lee was in and out of Dolan’s side. He returned in the New Year at right back before being restored to his preferred central midfield role in late February 1994, scoring a goal in a March 1994 defeat at Burnley.
Chris was a first team fixture for the 1994/95 season, missing only two games all season as he split his time between midfield and full back and scored early season goals against former club Scarborough in the League Cup and Plymouth Argyle in the League. For the 1995/96 season City were denuded of all saleable assets by manager Dolan and chairman-cum-fire-sale-exponent Martin Fish, but Chris stayed on and was a first team regular as City slumped to the foot of the table early and resolutely stayed there until relegation was confirmed in late Spring. Lee’s sixth and final Tigers goal was scored at Wycombe Wanderers in an October 1995 2-2 draw that was better known for a long distance Dean Windass wonder volley. With relegation sealed, further cost-cutting was needed and Chris was released in the 1996 close season.
Christopher Lee was born in Halifax and grew up in nearby Gomersal, he joined Bradford City on schoolboy forms while attending Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton before joining the club’s YTS scheme in the summer of 1987. By the end of the 1987/88 season Lee was playing for Bradford’s Reserves side and was a regular in the youth team that lifted that season’s Northern Intermediate League title. In May 1989 he signed his first professional contract with the Bantams but he did not progress to the first team and left the club in the 1990 close season.
Lee joined Division Four side Rochdale in June 1990 as part of a three player transfer worth £25,000 – he was joined at Spotland by Peter Costello and another future Tiger Jimmy Graham. At Rochdale Chris came under the managerial wing of Terry Dolan and his father Jeff Lee for the first time, he made his first team debut in August 1990 against Aldershot and struck his maiden goal four days later in the League Cup against Scarborough. Despite this decent start, accounts suggest that as the season wore on Chris was more popular with the management team than he was with supporters, in nine months at Spotland he scored three goals in 35 senior appearances.
In March 1991 Rochdale, who had just relieved Dolan and Lee senior of their management duties, moved Chris on to Division Four rivals Scarborough. Lee spent just over two seasons at Scarborough and became a first team regular, patrolling the base of midfield with menace and contributing the odd goal. By the time he left for Hull City in July 1993 Chris had scored five goals in 98 senior appearances for the Seadogs.
Lee left Hull City in the 1996 close season, after a summer playing in Finland he returned to England and signed for Guiseley. He broke his ankle in December 1996 and saw out his career drifting down the Yorkshire non-league scene until retirement in 1999.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 18 June 1971, Halifax
Hull City First Game: 21 August 1993, Plymouth Argyle H (League Division 2), 22 years, 64 days old
Hull City Final Game: 4 May 1996, Bradford City H (League Division 2), 24 years, 321 days old
Clubs
Bradford City (1987-1990), Rochdale (1990-1991), Scarborough (1991-1993), Hull City (1993-1996), Rovaniemen Palloseura (1996), Guiseley (1996-1997), Ossett Town (1997-1998), Hall Road Rangers (1998-1999)
Hull City Record
Career: 129 apps, 6 goals
Chris Lee| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993/94 | 37 (6) | 3 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 |
| 1994/95 | 42 (3) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 1 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 |
| 1995/96 | 25 (3) | 1 | 2 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 |