Captain Louis Coyle committed his future to Hull City when he signed a new contract earlier this month. The family’s name is synonymous with sporting success, but to people in the city, the Coyles are known for much more than that.
“Four pounds of English strawberries for two bucks,” shouted Louis from under the roof of his fruit stall in Hull city centre. It’s a familiar noise to anyone who walks along King Edward Street on a gray, rainy day wearing a hood and umbrella.
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Not so Liu Wei, who assured me it was a one-off as he took me on a tour of the city center reminiscing about his life and love for Hull.
“I’m 30 years old and I’m more nervous doing this now than I was when I was 12 or 13,” he said.
“I hated doing it as a kid and my dad would make me do it when my mates would walk by and I was so embarrassed.
“My old man’s fruit and vegetable stall is an important reason why I am here today. That place gave us the opportunity to make a living, and also gave me and my three brothers a platform to grow.”
Chris Coyle is surrounded by his four sons, from left, Tommy, Rocco, Joe and Lewie [Family Handout]
Lewis looked up at the sky and took a deep breath: “No matter where he is now, I am sure he will be looking down at me with great pride. Everything he did for me when he was a child was for the right reasons.
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“He didn’t always show his emotion. He wasn’t the type to put his arms around us and tell us he loved us, but if he called you ‘son’ when you did something good, that showed that he loved us and was proud of us. Those are the most powerful words.”
He paused: “My brother Joe said that at his funeral.”
The Coyle and Sons stall has been running for more than 30 years and was founded by his father, Chris Coyle, who passed away in 2022.
He insisted: “It’s not good that the old man isn’t standing in the back like he usually is, it’s difficult at times, but as a family this stall will always be here.”
Three of the four Coyle brothers stand next to their father Chris, from left: Tommy, Lewis and Joe [Family Handout]
Lewis comes from a sports background. His brothers Tommy is a Commonwealth lightweight champion boxer, Joe is a PGA golf professional and the youngest of the four, Rocco, is following in Lewie’s footsteps and now plays for Hull City’s under-21s.
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They show their support for the city by giving back.
Lewis runs the Lewis Coyle Football Academy, training hundreds of boys and girls every week, while Tommy distributes free school uniforms every year as part of his charity work. He had recently been granted freedom from the city.
As we continued our walk around the city centre, Lewis couldn’t help but glance up at the imposing City Hall building.
“Our Tom fought a lot there,” he recalled proudly.
“He used to sell it out. It used to hold about 1,500 people.”
I asked him if it was nerve-wracking watching his brothers fight in front of such a large audience.
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He replied: “I find it more nerve-wracking when one of my brothers is doing something because I can’t control it. In football, it’s me, I’m in control. But, our Tom was fighting and there was nothing I could do to help him.”
As we were crossing the road to White Frigate we were stopped by a fan who posed for a photo and then asked some young fans about Manchester City’s upcoming game.
The meeting helped him reflect on his childhood dream of becoming a football player.
Although his ambition was to play for Hull City, his first breakthrough came as a youngster at Leeds United.
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“My dad would take me to play football, up and down the highway for years.
“I used to get the bus back from school and we would have to pack up the fruit and veg stall quickly to get to Leeds in time for training.”
Lewis credits his father’s support as a young player learning his career at Leeds United as a key factor in his more than 300 professional games [Family Handout]
As we passed the HMV store, he stopped again and couldn’t help but reminisce: “If my mum or dad gave me pocket money, I loved buying CDs at HMV.
“I always used to try to get ‘The Mighty Ducks’ on DVD. It’s a hockey movie and it’s a favorite of mine and my brothers’.
“This was in the days before Apple Music…oh no, I’m showing my age.”
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Staring at some empty shops, Lewis added: “I know how hard life is in this city.
“We all struggle sometimes. Again, life is hard, especially here, and there’s not always a lot going on.”
Pointing to the Queen’s Gardens, he admitted he had not “always been a saint” and had occasionally been in “trouble” growing up, but added: “Hull has my heart, I’m a Hull boy through and through.
“I love my city and I wouldn’t want to end my career anywhere else.
“I’m just a lad from Bilton and my dream has come true.”
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