List of players who have played for Preston and Blackburn.
478) Tommy Brogan
888) Marlon Broomes
908) John Curtis
906) Callum Davidson
879) Kevin Gallacher
951) Paul Gallagher
885) Colin Hendry
698) Ronnie Hildersley
828) Michael Holt
929) Jermal Johnson
545) Howard Kendall
570) Ken Knighton
963) Jay McEveley
830) Bobby Mimms
547) Kit Napier
965) Eddie Nolan
487) Eddie Quigley
780) Chris Sulley
974) Keith Tracey
444) Jackie Wharton
Player Profile – Bobby Mimms
Robert Andrew (Bobby) Mimms was born in York on 12 October 1963; he began his footballing career as an apprentice at Halifax. However, he failed to break into the first team and joined Rotherham in November 1981 for a fee of £15,000.
He played his first two league matches in the 1981/82 season, his final season for Rotherham in 1984/85 he was an ever present and was under scrutiny with bigger clubs especially when he appeared as a substitute for the England Under 21 side.
On 30 May 1985 after 83 appearances for the Millers, Mimms joined Everton for a fee of £150,000 as cover for Neville Southall. However, due to an injury to Southall, Mimms got hold of the goalkeeping jersey in 1956/86 played in the 1986 FA Cup Final, which Everton lost 3–1 to Liverpool.
With Southall recovering Mimms was released on loan a number of times to gain first team experience. Notts County on 13 March 1986 (2 matches), Sunderland 11 December 1986 (4 matches), Blackburn 23 January 1987 (6 matches), making his debut the following day in a 0-0 draw at Leeds and Manchester City 24 September 1987 (3 matches).
After 29 matches for Everton, including two further Under 21 caps Mimms joined Terry Venables at Tottenham for £325,000 on 25 February 1988. He made 13 appearances for the remainder of the season as first choice keeper but later lost his place to Erik Thorsvedt. He had made 37 appearances before joining Aberdeen on loan on 6 December 1990 and made 6 appearances.
He got his second big break on 22 December 1990, when Blackburn manager Don Mackay signed him for a fee of £250,000 as Mimms' arrival coincided with "the Jack Walker revolution" at Ewood Park.
Blackburn began the 1991/92 season poorly, and Mackay was soon sacked to make way for Kenny Dalglish. Dalglish made several substantial signings during the season and Blackburn reached the playoff final where they beat Leicester 1–0, ending 26 years outside the top flight, Mimms missing just one league game during the season.
Mimms was an ever present in 1992/93 and was a key part of the team which finished fourth, just missing out on a UEFA Cup place as Jack walker used his millions to sign player such as Alan Shearer, Stuart Ripley and Graeme Le Saux..
In 1993 Southampton goalkeeper Tim Flowers was brought in as the new number one. Mimms made few first team appearances after Flowers' signing, including 4 during Rovers' Premier League winning season of 1994-95.
Mimms had made 128 appearances for Blackburn before joining Crystal Palace on 30 August, for whom he made a single appearance.
The following month Mimms joined Preston and made his debut in a 2-1 defeat at Bristol City on 7 September 1996. He made 27 appearances during the season as he shared the duties with O’Hanlon and Lucus as well as League Cup ties against former club Spurs and two cup tie defeats against his home town club. His last game for PNE was a 2-1 defeat at Blackpool on 15 March 1997
In August 1997 Mimms joined Rotherham for the second time (initially on loan before joining permanently two months later), making 43 appearances, before joining York in August 1998 as a player coach at Bootham Creseent. He made 63 appearances for his home town club before joining Mansfield in March 2000 as a player and helped as a goalkeeping coach. Mimms made 45 appearances for the Stags; his last league match was a 3-1 defeat at Southend on 8 May 2001.
Between 2001 and 2008 Mimms worked as goalkeeping coach at Wolves, before returning to Blackburn to fulfil the same role in August 2008 and has represented Blackburn in the Masters football tournament.