Remembering the football career of one of our greatest ever servants, Ivan Hollett, who passed away yesterday aged 81.
Ivan was born in Pinxton in April 1940.
He began his playing career with Derby County as an amateur and without making a first team appearance he moved on to Sutton Town before signing for the Stags in 1958.
He was a goal scoring centre or inside forward who made 107 first team appearances, scoring 47 goals in all competitions for the club, before moving on to Chesterfield in December 1964 as replacement for Ralph Hunt who had been killed in a car crash.
He was a member of the Stags’ promotion-winning team in the 1962-63 season, scoring a hattrick in the record 9-2 win over Hounslow in the FA Cup the same season.
Ivan later moved on to Crewe Alexandra before playing for Cambridge United and Hereford United in those club's first ever Football League seasons.
He played in South Africa before returning to managing Alfreton Town.
He returned to the Stags in 1984, working with the youth team and a number of other different roles including scout, coach and assistant manager, before moving on to Derby County in 2010.
Ivan passed away on 23 March just a month short of his 82nd birthday.
