On this day in 1966, Lee Butler was born in Sheffield. The 54-year-old would go on to play for Aston Villa in his nomadic career, spending four years in the West Midlands while being understudy to Nigel Spink, but he fell down the divisions after leaving.
Before turning professional, Butler played for Harworth Colliery at youth level and impressed enough to earn the attentions of Lincoln City in 1986. He spent a season with the Imps and featured approximately 30 times before joining Villa in 1987.
Butler struggled for playing time at Villa Park as Nigel Spinks was his direct competition, but it was nonetheless the highest level he operated at. The English stopper made eight appearances in four years and was loaned out to Hull City in his final season before joining Barnsley permanently in 1991.
He spent five years at Oakwell, made 120 appearances and had a short loan stint at Scunthorpe United in 1996 before moving to Wigan Athletic later that year. Butler made 63 appearances for the Latics and then spent a year at Dunfermline Athletic in 1998.
The goalkeeper made 35 appearances before Halifax Town came calling and a three-year stay resulted in 93 appearances. Butler joined the 10th club of his career in 2002, switching to Doncaster Rovers, but he made only 10 appearances in a short-lived stint before returning to Halifax.
Butler made 37 appearances for the Shaymen before moving to Alfreton where he made 88 appearances between 2003 and 2005. The 54-year-old would then return to Town to see out his playing career, managing only a handful of outings at the Shay Stadium before getting into coaching at Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers and finally Sunderland.
In other news, El Ghazi and McGinn send Aston Villa back to the Premier League on this day in 2019
