John Liversidge's first team-mates were football legends Jackie Charlton and Billy Bremner -- and other Leeds United stars of the 1960s and 1970s.
Supt John Liversidge
On his side now are 280 police officers, 70 civilians, special constables, traffic wardens and volunteer workers.
Supt Liversidge is head of Thames Valley Police's northern sector and has received the force's 22-year long-service medal from Chief Constable Peter Neyroud.
He was signed as an apprentice at Leeds United in 1970.
After leaving the club, he played semi-professional soccer for non-league clubs in Yorkshire and trained as a PE teacher before joining Thames Valley Police in 1980.
He was patrol sergeant at Banbury police station in 1986 and area crime and operations manager in 2000. Earlier this year he was made area commander.
The northern sector has a population of 240,000, and covers Banbury, Chipping Norton, Bicester, Witney, Carterton, Kidlington and Woodstock.
Mr Liversidge no longer plays football but he has run the London Marathon seven times and raised more than £3,000 for Cancer Research.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article