Mike Corby

Mike Corby enjoyed two successful sporting careers that saw him play hockey at two Olympics and win three silver medals at the Squash World Team Championships. On top of that Corby became a highly successful, and wealthy, businessman.

Corby was educated at London´s Mill Hill private school school for five years where he was an outstanding all-round sportsman. As a junior, he enjoyed swimming and boxing, and as a senior, excelled at rugby, athletics, hockey, tennis, squash, and fives. In 1958, Corby played for the England schoolboys hockey team against Ireland, and that year also won the Youll Cup, the public schools under-19 title at the All-England Club at Wimbledon, as Mill Hill won the trophy for the first and only time in their history (through 2024). In 1959 Corby won the Drysdale Cup as the British boys under-19 open squash champion.

Corby was in the Great Britain hockey team at the 1964 Olympics but, because his squash career was taking off, was overlooked for the 1968 Games. He was, however, recalled fur München 1972, when he was vice-captain. During a recreation period at the Tokyo games Corby played table tennis against gold medal-winning boxer Joe Frazier.

Corby rose to number five in the world squash rankings and for around eight years was England´s number one. At the 1967, 1969, and 1971 World Team Squash Championships he won three silver medals when Great Britain finished second to Australia on each occasion. However, Corby won gold with England at the 1975 European Team Championship in Dublin.

In a 17-year international hockey career, Corby earned more than 100 England and Great Britain caps and was at one time the world´s most capped player. He also played county hockey for Middlesex and at club level won the Hockey Association Knockout Cup in its first four years existence 1972-75, winning it twice each with Hounslow and Southgate.

A former insurance broker, Corby had a “light-bulb” moment in the 1970s when he saw a need for City of London workers to get more exercise and he opened a squash club. He went on to establish more clubs in the London area under the brand name “The Fitness Exchange”. Corby´s original idea eventually made him a multi-millionaire.

Corby was the former president of England Squash and also vice-president of the World Squash Federation, where he was the Director of Olympic Affairs, with the task of securing an Olympic place for the sport.