From schoolboy prodigy to Brisbane City star, and kickabouts with Rod Stewart: The Frank Pimblett story
- Adam Cattell
- Aug 12
- 6 min read
When National Premier Leagues club Brisbane City unveiled the Frank Pimblett Supporter Deck earlier this year, it honoured one of their greatest former players—a man whose football journey began half a world away, as the heralded schoolboy captain of the legendary 1971 Huyton Boys side. Long before the A-League era, Frank Pimblett became a towering figure in Queensland football, helping shape the game in the state with a quiet tenacity and enduring influence.
Frank Pimblett in action for Brisbane City. (Image: Brisbane City)
Born on 12 March 1957, Frank was the eldest of four boys. His father left the family early, and it was a tough upbringing. As the oldest, he shouldered responsibility from a young age.
Huyton sits six miles east of Liverpool's city centre and has long been a footballing hotbed. The area has produced many professional players, none more famous than former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard.
But almost a decade before Gerrard was born, Frank Pimblett was already making history—captaining his Huyton side to victory over Stoke Boys in the English Schools FA Trophy final at Goodison Park in April 1971, as they became the first non-city side to win the competition.
The successful 1971 Huyton Boys team that Frank was the captain of.
Even more remarkably, Frank was one school year younger than all of his teammates.
That Huyton side was packed with talent. Among Pimblett's teammates was Peter Reid, who went on to play for Everton, Manchester City and England. One of the team's coaches was schoolteacher Alan Bleasdale, who would later become an acclaimed screenwriter.
In Huyton Titans, a book by Mark Campbell, Bleasdale recalled that making Frank captain was an easy choice:
"The simple reason for his captaincy was that he was a man amongst boys. He was thirteen going on thirty—most boys his age are thirteen going on seven!"
Frank would go on to earn eight England Schoolboy caps and attract interest from a host of Football League clubs. He chose to join Aston Villa, signing as an apprentice in June 1973 and turning professional in October the following year.
Frank in his Aston Villa days.
On 4 January 1975—just two months shy of his 18th birthday—Frank made his first-team debut in an FA Cup tie away at Oldham Athletic, helping Villa to a 3–0 win. He featured four more times that season as the Villans secured promotion to the top flight, finishing runners-up in the old Second Division.
Fittingly, his Division One debut came at Anfield. Villa lost 3–0 to a Liverpool side spearheaded by Kevin Keegan and John Toshack—giants of the era.
It was the first of seven Division One appearances Frank would make, the last coming in February 1976, in a 2–1 defeat to Sheffield United. He would then join fourth-tier side Newport County on loan for the rest of the season.
After departing Aston Villa, Frank made a move to Stockport County—a transfer that, in hindsight, proved ill-fated. What once seemed the beginning of a glittering professional career suddenly looked in danger of fizzling out before it had truly begun.
At this time, a cousin had already settled in Brisbane and suggested he also make the move. With the timing aligning perfectly with the birth of the National Soccer League (NSL), Frank seized the opportunity. On 3 April 1977, he made his NSL debut for Brisbane City in a 1–0 defeat to Marconi Fairfield, with over 5,000 fans packing into Perry Park to witness a new era of Australian football—and a new chapter in Pimblett's career.
Success followed quickly. Brisbane City lifted the inaugural Philips Cup, and a year later, they retained the trophy. In the 1978 final, it was Frank who sealed the 2–1 win over Adelaide City, scoring the decisive goal in the 77th minute.
Off the pitch, he was also beginning to settle into life in Brisbane. He met Helen—the woman who would become his wife and lifelong partner—as he started to put down roots in a new city. "We both knew straight away," recalls Helen of their first meeting.
To supplement his income from football, Frank had to find work. Through club connections, he landed a job as a window dresser at Myer. "Italians love their fashion," Helen laughs, "although it's fair to say it probably wasn't for Frank—he lasted a whole day!"
A more fitting role came shortly after, again through Brisbane City's Italian links, when he began working as a steel fixer. It was hard, physical work, but suited Frank far better and helped keep him in peak condition.
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Frank made 211 appearances for Brisbane City but eventually grew disillusioned with the game, walking away in 1985 and taking a four-year hiatus. When he returned in 1989, it was as if he'd never been away, earning the Courier-Mail's Best and Fairest award that same year.
He later joined Brisbane United (now known as the Brisbane Strikers), where he continued to leave his mark. Former teammate Alan Hunter, a defender with 345 NSL appearances, remembers him well.
"Frank was like a big brother to me," Hunter says. "When I was 18, I roomed with him and Kim Wishart. He was honest, reliable and loyal—and on the pitch, tough, hard and fair."
"If I had to compare him to another player, I'd probably say Graeme Souness—he was easily one of the best midfielders I've played with or against."
Alan also remembers the time he and Frank ended up having a casual kickabout with none other than rock legend Rod Stewart.
"It would've been around 1992—Rod was in town to play a show at the Entertainment Centre," Hunter recalls. "There were a few British lads in the team at the time—Frank, Steve Bullock—and somehow Rod's manager got in touch and organised a last-minute game."
"He rocked up in a limo with a couple of his roadies, and we just got stuck in.
"I've never been a massive fan of his music," Hunter admits, "but I know he's mad about his football. And to be fair, for a bloke in his mid-40s at the time, he could really play!"
Rock legend Rod Stewart (back row, third from left) with members of the Brisbane United team. (Image: Alan Hunter)
Helen also remembers Frank coming home that day and casually mentioning, as if it were nothing, that he'd just played with Rod Stewart!
Another former teammate at Brisbane United, Chris Slater, echoed Alan's sentiments.
"Frank was everywhere on the pitch—he just controlled games," Slater recalls.
"I was a young player at the time, and he took me under his wing. As a player, you just didn't want to let him down."
As well as playing for his club, Frank was a regular in the Queensland state team, captaining them on numerous occasions.
Frank (back row, sixth from right) in a photo of the Queensland state team. (Image: Chris Slater)
In May 1989, English side Charlton Athletic toured the state and played out a 2–2 draw with Queensland at Perry Park. Charlton's manager at the time, Lennie Lawrence, was so impressed by Frank's performance that he offered him a route back into English football.
"Frank put on a bit of a show that day," Slater recalls.
But by then, Frank was more than happy with life in Brisbane and didn't entertain the offer.
A couple of years later, after gaining Australian citizenship, there was even talk of a Socceroos call-up. True to form, Frank turned that down, too, saying the spot should go to a younger player. "He could have easily been capped," Slater claims.
Frank's loyalty was later recognised with a testimonial match against the Malaysian national team.
He spent the twilight of his playing days at Pine Rivers United, a club he would go on to coach, along with stints at Ipswich Knights and a return to Brisbane City, where he guided the club to a Queensland Cup win in 2004.
Frank and Helen would eventually buy the steel-fixing company Azzurri Steelfixing, which he had helped establish back in 2007. He brought the same leadership and discipline he showed on the pitch into the business world, earning a reputation for generosity and for always looking after his workers.
The business became highly successful, affording the pair the chance to travel together across the world.
Following Frank's passing in June 2024, the local football community was quick to pay tribute. Football Queensland, the state's governing body, described him as a "stalwart of the game."
His name features on the honours board at Brisbane City, where he was voted a club legend in 2022—many who saw him play consider him among the finest ever to lace a boot in the city.
It seems only fitting to leave the final word to Helen:
"I'm always happy to talk about Frank," she says. "He's my favourite topic. In my opinion, he was the quintessential diamond in the rough."
For those who played alongside him, worked beside him, or simply watched him command a football pitch, that diamond's shine has never dimmed. In Brisbane's football story, Frank Pimblett's name will always glint brightly.
A club that was a significant part of Frank's story, Brisbane City, are in Australia Cup Round of 16 action this evening, facing Olympic Kingsway from Western Australia at 7:30 pm AEST.
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