Obituaries
Mark Lazarus, one of English football’s first Jewish stars, dies aged 86
The footballing great played for clubs including Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace
August 12, 2025 13:05
The footballing great played for clubs including Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace
August 12, 2025 13:05Mark Lazarus, widely hailed as English football's first big-name Jewish player, could have quite easily gone down a different path.
Born in Stepney on 5 September 1938, both of his older brothers, Lew and Harry, were boxers and Lazurus toyed with the idea of following in their footsteps; his love of the beautiful game ultimately prevailed however.
With a footballing career spanning two decades, Lazarus played for clubs including Leyton Orient, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brentford and Crystal Palace, as well as Queens Park Rangers, to which he returned twice. He scored 151 goals in 606 appearances.
Announcing the death of the footballing great, Queens Park Rangers paid tribute to the winger, noting that decades on from Lazarus’s heyday, “generations” of fans continue to hold the “talented” player “in high regard”.
Growing up in a non-religious Jewish family, Lazarus once spoke to the Jewish Telegraph about his early childhood: "There was no antisemitism in the East End,” he said. "That came later when we moved to Chadwell Heath, in Essex, when I was six.
"We were the only Jewish family in the area and I had fights every day on the way to school.
"The other kids called me names, but it didn't make me feel any different, that's just how kids behaved."
Lazarus, whose grandparents were eastern European immigrants, didn't have a Jewish upbringing, nor did he have a bar mitzvah. He was, however, proud of his Jewish heritage: "We were Jewish by name and by nature,” Lazarus said.
"Nobody ever started on us about that in the East End or said anything derogatory - we were a fighting family, after all."
On 7 October 1957, the then-19-year-old signed as an amateur for Leyton Orient and he immediately proved himself to be a valuable addition to the team. At his debut, just two weeks after the O's took him on, he put away two goals against Charlton, helping his new club beat the opposition 3-2 at London Challenge Cup.
The new star received his professional contract on 26 November that year and on 4 January 1958, he made his debut in the FA cup against Reading.
Shortly after this, Lazarus was conscripted to the army for his national service, and in 1959,he married Fay Ray, whom he met at a dance at the Ilford Palais nightclub.
Lazarus was well-known for his distinctive and enthusiastic goal celebration. He would run around the entire pitch, arms outstretched, stopping to shake hands with fans, particularly at Loftus Road where spectators were just a few feet from the action. Fans would chant: “Laza, Laza, Laza, Laza, Lazarus."
The footballer and his wife had two children and five grandchildren. Football ran in Lazarus' family — his nephew is former Leyton Orient footballer Bobby Fisher.
In recent years, Lazarus returned to QPR as a matchday hospitality host, and in 2021, he attended Orient's Brisbane Road on several occasions for a fiftieth season anniversary.
Lazarus died on 29 July 2025. He had been in hospital with a serious illness though his family did not disclose the cause of death.
Leyton Orient paid tribute to Lazarus, saying: "Everyone at Leyton Orient sends their condolences to Mark’s family and friends at this sad time. Rest in peace, Mark."
QPR club historian Chris Guy said: “We will forever enjoy the stories of Wembley in 1967, the handshakes with the fans after a goal, the torn shorts and the memories of a truly lovely man.”
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