Hereford FC Club Historian Ron Parrott takes up the story:- “When a former player passes on, the news normally reaches us fairly quickly and I am able to prepare a fitting tribute. However, in the case of Mike Carter, this was far from the truth! About 12 months ago, I began to hear rumours that Mike had died but I was unable to confirm it and therefore couldn’t report anything but with the help of Matt Healey, I made contact with Mike’s best friend then eventually with his widow Anita, when the sad story eventually came to light.
After retirement from football, Mike formed his own self-build company and he built many individual large houses and was extremely proud of his work. Sadly, Mike began to develop heart problems and had his first major heart attack in 2005 at the age of 45 but his strength of character made him fight to live on. He had two further heart attacks but carried on working until he and his wife Anita, decided to take a holiday in the Philippines to meet their daughter, who was in the middle of a two-year travelling trip. After checking into their hotel with their son Paul, they got their heads down and were due to meet up with their daughter the following day. Tragically, it never happened. The next morning, Mike was sitting at the “island” in the kitchen of the villa they were renting, with a coffee in his hand when he suddenly collapsed from the stool he’d been sitting on and died instantly. Anita had the unenviable task of breaking the news to their daughter, then being faced with the heart-rending task of arranging to get Mike’s body home, all of which she bravely achieved.
This all happened back in November 2018 but somehow news never reached the outside footballing world. Anita and her family are now looking forward to spending a few days in Hereford next March and hope to visit Edgar Street to take in a game.
Photo supplied by Ron Parrott
