Marlfield English's adult club career with
Marlfield spanned over 20 years. Although he never won a
County Senior Championship title, he was instrumental in Marlfield securing four
South Tipperary Championship titles between 1960 and 1970. English, in retirement from playing, was honoured by being named club president.
Tipperary Junior English first came to prominence on the inter-county scene when he was drafted onto the
Tipperary junior teams as a
dual player. In July 1951, he had his first inter-county successes when the Tipperary junior hurling team secured the
Munster Junior Championship title after a 4-08 to 3-02 win over
Limerick. The following year, English became a dual provincial championship medallist when the Tipperary junior football team won their first
Munster Junior Championship in 15 years after two-point win over
Kerry in a final replay. In August 1953, English made it three Munster Junior Championship titles in succession when Tipperary secured their first provincial hurling title in two years after a one-point defeat of
Cork in the final. After success in an All-Ireland semi-final replay and the All-Ireland "home" final, Tipperary hosted Warwickshire in the All-Ireland final proper at
Thurles Sportsfield. English ended the game with an
All-Ireland Junior Championship medal after 4-10 to 1-03 victory.
Senior English's success with the Tipperary junior team resulted in an immediate call-up to the senior team at the start of the
1953-54 National League. He made his first appearance for the team in November 1953 when he lined out at centre-forward in a 3-06 to 1-01 win over
Clare in
Division 1B. English was subsequently switched to midfield, and ended the league with his first senior silverware after Tipperary beat
Kilkenny by 3-10 to 1-04 in
the final. Later that season he made his
Munster Championship debut in a
semi-final win over Clare. English's performance in the 2-08 to 1-08 defeat by
Cork in the
subsequent final was described in the
Irish Independent as being "head and shoulders over any of the other four midfielders." Tipperary dominated the National League during English's first few seasons with the team, with the 1954 success being the first of four successive league final appearances. He claimed further league honours after a defeat of
Wexford clinched the
1954-55 title and a win over Kilkenny secured the
1956-57 title. After a seven-year absence, Tipperary secured the
1958 Munster Championship after a 4-12 to 1-05 win over
reigning champions Waterford. English, who collected his first championship winners' medal as a result of the victory, was described in the
Irish Press as being "magnificent". His preparations for the
1958 All-Ireland final were hampered after dislocating the index finger in his right hand when playing a club football match the week before the final. English's performance in the All-Ireland final against
Galway saw him claimed his first
All-Ireland Championship after the 4-09 to 2-05 win. English added to his National League medal collection when Tipperary secured the
1958-59 league with a 0-15 to 0-07 win over Waterford. He claimed a fifth league medal in seven seasons the following year when Tipperary retained the title after a 2-15 to 3-08 win over Cork in the
1960 final. The
subsequent Munster Championship campaign saw English claim his second winners' medal after giving a "sound, without being spectacular" performance in the two-point win over Cork. A groin injury meant that he was a doubt for the
1960 All-Ireland final right up to the day of the match, however, according to the
Cork Examiner reporter, he played the "greatest 30 minutes of his career" but ultimately ended up in the losing side after the 2-15 to 0-11 defeat. Tipperary's dominance of the National League continued in
1960-61, with English collecting a sixth winners' medal after Tipperary secured a third successive title following a three-point win over Waterford. Tipperary subsequently retained the
Munster Championship, with English adding a third provincial medal to his collection after dominating midfield with his partner
Liam Devaney in the 3-06 to 0-07 win over Cork. After later making a
third All-Ireland final appearance in four years, he ended the season with a second All-Ireland winners' medal after the 0-16 to 1-12 win over
Dublin. A defeat by Kilkenny in the
group stage of the
1961-62 league ended Tipperary's hopes of a fourth successive title. In spite if this, Tipperary secured a third successive
Munster Championship title, with English claiming a fourth winners' medal after the 5-14 to 2-03 win over Waterford. The
1962 All-Ireland final saw English win a third All-Ireland Championship title in five years, after once again lining out at midfield in the 3-10 to 2-11 defeat of Wexford. In spite of an unsuccessful 1963 season, English ended the year by being named as midfield partner to Dublin's
Des Ferguson on the
1963 Team of the Year. Tipperary went undefeated during the
1963-64 National League, with English claiming a seventh league medal after a 4-16 to 6-06 win over
New York in the
final proper. He subsequently added a fifth provincial title to his collection after Tipperary's 14-point win over Cork to secure the
1964 Munster Championship title. Tipperary had an average winning margin of 16 points throughout the championship, with English claiming a fourth All-Ireland medal following a 5-13 to 2-08 win over Kilkenny in the
1964 All-Ireland final. In July 1965, English won the sixth provincial medal of his career after a 4-11 to 0-05 defeat of Cork in the
1965 Munster final. Contemporary newspaper reports described him as being "seldom out of position", in what was his fifth winners' medal in six seasons. The victory qualified Tipperary for a
fifth All-Ireland final appearance in six seasons, with English claiming his fifth and final All-Ireland winners' medal following the 2-16 to 0-10 win over Wexford. Tipperary's bid for a third successive All-Ireland title ended with a
1966 Munster quarter-final defeat by
Limerick. In spite of this defeat, English ended the season by earning selection on the
Team of the Year. In July 1967, Tipperary qualified for their
seventh Munster final in eight seasons, with English making his eighth final appearance overall. The
Irish Independent singled out the midfield pair of English and
Mick Roche for particular praise in the 4-12 to 2-06 win over
Clare. This win qualified Tipperary for their sixth
All-Ireland final of the decade, with Kilkenny providing the opposition. 37-year-old English, though still not the oldest member of the team, was described by reporter
Mick Dunne as being "too frequently outwitted" by Kilkenny midfielder
Paddy Moran, and ended the game on the losing side after a first All-Ireland final defeat by Kilkenny in 45 years. The game marked his last appearance for the Tipperary team.
Munster English's performances at inter-county level earned him a call-up to the
Munster team in advance of the
1959 Railway Cup, in what was the first of seven consecutive seasons on the inter-provincial team. He made his first appearance for the team in the
1959 final victory over
Connacht, in what was the first of three consecutive final wins. Defeat in the
1962 final was followed by claiming a fourth and final winners' medal the following year. English's last two years with the Munster team ended in final defeats by
Leinster. ==Post-playing career==