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ObituariesPlease email details for the obituary section as well as additions and clarifications with source notes to enquiries@11v11.com
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HANDSCOMB ErnestBorn. 7.6.23 Died. 16.3.99Ernest played as an amateur for Finchley and, from January 1947 to May 1952 for St Albans City.
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HANKEY Albert EdwardBorn. Stoke 24.5.14 Died. Portsmouth 9.98Hankey signed for Southend in October 1937 after having been an amateur with Charlton Athletic. He was to stay until June 1950 when he joined Tonbridge. A goalkeeper, he made his debut against Watford in the 3rd Division South that same month and kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win. He shared the number spot with Mackenzie and Hillam that season but emerged as automatic first choice after the war and became a real crowd pleaser. He played 125 League, 9 F.A. Cup, 1 3rd Division South Cup and 4 Wartime games for Southend during his spell with the club a total that would have been much greater but for the war that ruined so many careers.
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HARDEN Leo JBorn. West Hartlepool 7.5.23 Died. Hartlepool 5.12.99Leo was a great character and whole hearted player who entertained the fans at Hartlepools United from 1946 to 1956. A local lad, he signed for United from the club’s nursery side Railway Athletic, often playing for Railway on a Saturday morning and Pools’ reserves in the afternoon. An outside-left, he made his debut in the first League game for the club on resumption of official football following the war. Typically he scored in a 1-1 draw at home to Barrow. He went on to score 47 League goals in 169 appearances and a further 5 in 11 F.A. Cup matches. His last game for the club came in April 1956, his only appearance of the season, and once again he finished on the scorer’s list in a 3-1 home win over Gateshead. His best match must have been the 6-0 home thrashing of Rochdale in October 1953, when Leo scored 4 goals. Always a crowd pleaser, he remained a part-time player throughout his professional career as he did not think that full time football was enough to fill his time. In fact he drove a dustbin cart for his living and this was a constant subject of jibes from the crowd. Leo had a ready wit and positively encouraged the banter. They would shout that he was playing rubbish and he would retort by threatening to leave the bins unemptied! Not surprisingly, he was nicknamed “the flying Dustman”. An all-round sportsman, he played good level club cricket in the summer and at one stage trained with Rugby side Hartlepools Rovers to maintain fitness. On leaving Hartlepool he signed for Thornley CW. His great popularity in the town was demonstrated by the large turnout at his funeral.
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HARMER, Thomas Charles (Tommy)Born: London 1928-02-02 Died: London 2007-12-25'Harmer the Charmer" was the evocative nickname, and it summed up the spindly little East Ender's footballing persona admirably as he captivated Tottenham Hotspur fans of the late 1950s with artistic sleight-of-foot and an almost brazen audacity which belied his rather anxious off-the-pitch demeanour. Tommy Harmer was the archetypal ball-juggling inside-forward, and had he enjoyed his pomp in the first half of the 20th century he would have been hailed as a national treasure. As it was, he was born too late to be a soccer superstar, the game having changed to place increased emphasis on steelier, more muscular attributes than he possessed, but there remained few more subtly beguiling manipulators of a football anywhere in England. Even discounting his devilish skills, Tottenham's "Tom Thumb" was unmissable on the field of play, with his jerkily inelegant mode of running, his voluminous shorts and his mop of thick black hair crowning a head which appeared fractionally too big for his puny pipe-cleaner of a frame. When Harmer's creative muse was with him, though, all notions of awkwardness dissolved. The nervy individual, who maintained a tense ritual of smoking half a cigarette before every game with the rest saved for the interval, was transformed into a bold enchanter of devastatingly assured touch, a dribbler and passer sublime who was adept at escaping from the tightest of corners. When Harmer dispatched the ball, every manner of trajectory was his to command, his repertoire containing back-spin, swerve and one or two impudent incantations of his own invention. Yet for all that technical mastery, he was never a self-aggrandising trickster better suited to circus ring than football field; rather he was an instinctive improviser whose subtle wiles were employed faithfully in his team's cause. Born in Hackney, east London, the son of a French polisher, Harmer honed his remarkable natural abilities in traditional manner, kicking a tennis ball around the streets near his home at every opportunity. His talent first became apparent when he played for London Fields School. He moved on to a team of naval cadets, with whom he was excelling when spotted by a Tottenham Hotspur scout during the Second World War. After joining the White Hart Lane club as a 17-year-old amateur in 1945, he was farmed out to non-league Finchley to gain experience, and to grow physically. A beef-steak-and-milk diet failed conspicuously to flesh out that gaunt outline, but he continued to develop as a player and signed professional forms for Spurs in August 1948. Under the guidance of the new boss Arthur Rowe, Tottenham were developing an exhilarating push-and-run style which would earn them the championship of the Second and First Divisions in consecutive seasons, 1949/50 and 1950/51. The deep-thinking manager understood Harmer's exceptional quality, but he believed that the diminutive play-maker interrupted the rapid flow of his successful system. Accordingly, it was not until September 1951, at the age of 23, that Harmer made his first-team début, at home to Bolton Wanderers, when he made up for lost time by delighting supporters with a dazzling performance in a 2-1 victory. However, that did not cement his position and for nearly five years he was reduced to a peripheral role on the fringe of the side, enormously frustrating for a performer in his middle twenties who should have been nearing his peak. Maddeningly, too, when he was picked he did not always show himself to best advantage, sometimes being brushed aside by more vigorous adversaries. So disenchanted did he become that he asked for a transfer, but the only firm offer came from Cardiff City, who were located too far from London for the home-loving Harmer. His moment arrived in mid-decade following the departure of the veteran midfield general Eddie Baily and Rowe's retirement through ill health. The new boss Jimmy Anderson rated Harmer highly and employed him alongside the recently acquired wing-half Danny Blanchflower, the two of them melding magnificently to become one of the most creative centre-field pairings in English football. With the eloquent Irishman prompting intelligently and inspirationally at his shoulder, Harmer switched play constantly like some gawky but increasingly self-assured signalman on rush-hour traffic duty. Largely as a result of this happy liaison, Spurs were transformed from the lower-to-mid-table mediocrities they had become into championship challengers in 1956/57. That term Harmer played in every match, and answered the criticism that he was a lightweight luxury by scoring 17 league goals, including 10 penalties, as the side finished as title runners-up to Manchester United's Busby Babes. He continued to thrive as Tottenham took third place in the next campaign, and even though he had entered his thirties by the time another new manager, Bill Nicholson, embarked on radical team reconstruction in October 1958, it did not seem fanciful to suppose that Harmer might play a central part in the fresh era. However, his prospects dimmed when the gloriously gifted John White was signed from Falkirk in October 1959. At first they were used as twin inside-forwards, then they were employed in tandem on the right flank (with Harmer on the wing), but the balance wasn't quite correct and, by the decade's end, the older man was out of the team for good. In October 1960 the "Charmer" was sold for £6,000 to Watford of the Third Division. He had been courted by bigger clubs in the Midlands and the North, but he remained loath to stray far from London, to which he returned in September 1962 to enlist with Second Division Chelsea. Tommy Docherty's precocious young bloods benefited only briefly from the 34-year-old's experience, but although he made a mere handful of appearances for the Pensioners, he did contribute the goal which kept their promotion hopes alive with a win at Sunderland's Roker Park. After rising to the top flight with Chelsea that spring, Harmer played three more times for his new employers, notably engineering the two goals which beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane in February 1964. Thereafter the still-skinny veteran coached at Stamford Bridge before leaving the game in 1967, later working as a bank messenger. Ivan Ponting, The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
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HARRIS FrederickBorn. Birmingham 2.7.12 Died. South Warwickshire 10.98Fred’s career neatly divides into two sections around the war. At the time of his debut in front of a Villa Park crowd of 54,000, he was a sharp shooting inside forward. His debut came in the very first match of the 1934/5 season and he opened the scoring in a 2-1 victory. He became a regular first team player and scored his share of goals, including 18 League and Cup in 1935/6. Injuries restricted his appearances in 1937/8 but the following season he was top scorer with 14 as Birmingham City were relegated from the 1st Division. He first served in the Auxiliary Police Reserve during the war and was injured in an air raid on Birmingham. later he joined the Army as a P.T. Instructor. During the war he moved to wing half to accommodate the needs of the situation and it was in this position that he occupied when hostilities ended. After the war, despite being at the veteran stage, he made an outstanding wing half and captain for the club. His style of hard tackling and clever distribution gained him a place in the 1949 Football League side that played the Scottish League at Ibrox Park alongside the likes of Finney, Mortensen, Milburn and Franklin. He retired at the age of almost 38 whilst still a regular in the side. He set up practice as a chiropodist and physiotherapist in the Birmingham area - a business he ran for many years. Birmingham career: Football League 280 Games 61 Goals F.A. Cup 30 Games 8 Goals Wartime 94 Games 7 Goals TOTAL 404 Games 76 Goals
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HARRIS John RobertBorn. Glasgow c1923 Died. Glasgow 25.08.00Tony Harris made professional football profitable and fun. He arrived at Hampden to play for Queens Park early in the Second World War, having briefly served in the RAF and the Navy but was sent back to University when the authorities learned that he was a dental student. There was a serious shortage of dentists at the time. He developed his soccer skills, as a centre-forward at Queens Park and stayed with the club for almost five years. In April 1945 he won a wartime international cap against England, standing in for the injured Jock Dodds. England ran out 6-1 but contemporary reports reveal that he held his own in professional company. In October 1945 he was a member of the side that captured the last trophy won by Queen’s Park to this date - the Glasgow Charity Cup. He turned professional for Aberdeen in 1946 and was son moved to the right wing. He was a big man and made up for any technical deficiencies with his wholehearted efforts. He was a member of the 1947 Scottish Cup Winning side when the Dons beat Hibs 2-1 at Hampden. Later in his eight season career at Aberdeen he moved back to wing-half where he used his large frame and good positional sense to good effect. It was as right-half that he appeared in a second Scottish Cup Final for the Dons. This time, the club went down 0-1 in the 1953 replay after a 1-1 draw. He finished his playing career with a spell at Airdrie. Record at Aberdeen:
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HASLEWOOD MC John Stedman Owen.Born. Bridgnorth 10.8.10 Died. Hampstead 20.11.99A natural games player, Haslewood represented Oxford at six different sports - soccer, golf, Eton fives, Rugby fives, cricket and tennis. He won an MC during the war. He was a man of many talents and accomplishments but it is appropriate to merely concentrate on his football activities in this Report. He captained the University at soccer but did not play against Cambridge, so failed to win a blue at this sport although he won four others. He helped Old Salopians win the Arthur Dunn Cup and played for the Corinthians.
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HILL Arthur “Archie”Born. Chesterfield 12.11.21 Died. Chesterfield 9.99Arthur was the son of Harold Hill who had played for Notts County, Sheffield Wednesday and Chesterfield. Arthur joined Chesterfield during the Second World War and made 15 war games for the club. He signed as a professional in September 1946 but his only post-war first team appearance came in April 1948 when he lined up at outside-right against Leeds United at Elland Road in April 1948. This was a 2nd Division match and a crowd of 28,799 saw Leeds triumph by 1-0. In the close season 1949 he joined Worksop Town and worked for the Coalboard workshops at Duckmanton.
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HILL Charles “Midge” JohnBorn. Cardiff 6.9.18 Died. Cardiff 12.98An inside forward or wing half back, Hill started out with his hometown club, Cardiff City, signing for them in June 1938. He made his League debut in October 1938 and played fairly regularly that season. His career was then put on hold for the duration of the war. He played just 4 wartime matches for the club and after the war found he was given limited exposure to first team football. He left the club for Torquay United in July 1947 after 4 goals in 19 League games for the Welsh club. His form was good at Torquay and he scored 16 League and Cup goals in his first season alone. Before leaving the 3rd Division South club he posted 15 League goals in 63 appearances and 4 in 8 F.A. Cup. Hill then moved to Queen’s Park Rangers of the 2nd Division in March 1948 and made his debut for the club against Sheffield Wednesday the following November as a makeshift centre forward. He later had a fair run in the team at left half but was transferred to Swindon in September 1950. He had made 21 League appearances for Rangers, scoring once but made just 4 League appearances at Swindon, without scoring and his career came to an end.
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HODDLE, CarlBorn: Sawbridgeworth, Herts. 1967-03-08 Died: 2008-03-02The younger brother of England international Glenn Hoddle, Carl began his career with Tottenham Hotspur in 1984. After five years he moved to Leyton Orient, where he played 29 times, before ending his playing career at Barnet in 1995 after 100 appearances. He also had a spell with conference side Woking FC. One notable game he played for the Bees was in the FA Cup against Chelsea in 1994, who were at the time managed by his older brother. He later worked in the used car trade and as a pub landlord before joining his older brother as a coach and scout at Wolverhampton Wanderers between 2004 and 2006. He died on 2 March 2008 after his body was found collapsed in his home from a suspected heart attack.
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HODGSON Gordon HenryBorn: Newcastle 1952-10-13 Died: Peterborough 1999-04-00A former England Youth international, Gordon developed through the Newcastle United junior ranks to sign for the club in July 1971, after finishing his grammar school education. A midfield player, he managed just 9 appearances for United before joining Mansfield Town in May 1974. He was recommended to Mansfield by their legendary chief scout Sam Weaver and he proved to be an outstanding signing for the club. In his first season he played a major part in helping the club to their first ever League title when they won the 4th Division. Two seasons later he was ever-present as they finished at the top of the 3rd Division and tasted life in the 2nd Division for the first time in their history. Hodgson moved to Oxford in September 1978 having played 184 League games for the Stags, scoring 23 goals. He lasted two seasons at Oxford, recording 67 League appearances (3 goals) and then moved to Peterborough where he scored 5 goals in 83 League games. He settled in Peterborough after his career finished. He had a spell in non-League with King's Lynn and joined the local police force.
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HORTON, Joseph Kenneth (Ken)Born: Preston 1922-08-26 Died: Lancashire 2000-02-10Ken Horton emerged as a prospect during the Second World War. He signed for Preston North End as an amateur in May 1940 and as a professional in January 1942. He played a handful of wartime games for the club and in 1946 he guested for Kilmarnock. He made his League debut in August 1946 at Deepdale in a 3-2 win over Leeds United in the First Division. He began as a wing-half but moved to inside-forward in 1950/51 with devastating success. He proved to be an exceptional opportunist and finisher to Tom Finney's right-wing skills. He scored 22 League and 1 F.A. Cup goal that season as Preston won the 2nd Division Championship. The following season he was far less successful in the top division and he left in October 1952 for Hull City. He enjoyed three seasons at Hull before moving to Barrow in August 1955. He then moved into non-League football by joining Morecambe for the 1956/7 season. He soon became captain and in January 1958, he was appointed player-manager. He scored 58 goals in 110 League and Cup matches for Morecambe but was unable to bring any trophies to the club. By the end of 1960/1 he had virtually stopped playing and he was sacked in preference for a new player-manager. Ironically, his replacement - Joe Dunn - inherited a good squad and achieved great success. Horton became manager of Horwich RMI in February 1963 and remained there until 1966/7. League record
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HOULISTON WilliamBorn: Dumfries 1921-04-04 Died: Scotland 1999-02-10Billy starred for Queen of the South in their glory days and played three times for Scotland including leading them to a famous victory over England. He was a direct, forceful centre-forward renown for his "rumble 'em up style" and was nicknamed "Bustling Billy". After playing school football as a centre-half he stopped playing until he took up the game whilst working as a male nurse, playing for the hospital side as a centre or inside-forward. He was called up in 1941 and served in the RAF as a wireless operator. During his spell in the forces he was attached to 16 different stations and played football for all of them. His reputation spread and he was offered terms by Arbroath but elected to play for his home team Queen of the South after a trial. After a few games in the reserves he made his debut against Morton at Cappielow in October 1945 and suffered a 1-7 defeat. Despite this inauspicious start he claimed a regular place in the first team and began to score regularly. Such was his form over the next three years or so that he began to attract the attention of the international selectors. In January 1948 he played for the Scottish League against the League of Ireland at Celtic Park and helped himself to two goals in the 3-0 victory. He went on to play twice more for the Scottish League before winning his first cap. He lined up against a star-studded Football League at Newcastle in March 1948 and helped secure a 1 - l draw and then scored against the League of Ireland in September 1948 at Ibrox. Two months later he received his first full cap when he played against Northern Ireland at Hampden and scored twice as the Scots won 3-2. The following April he again represented his country and played an inspirational role in a famous 3-1 victory at Wembley. Later that month he played his third and last international in a 2-0 victory over France at Hampden. He won just one more representative honour when, in September 1949, he played once again for the Scottish League against the League of Ireland. This time the venue was Dalyrnount Park and the result was a 1-0 win for the Scots. It may seem surprising that Houliston did not win more international and representative honours as his seven appearances resulted in six wins and a draw but the Scots were tough on their centre-forwards in those days. His replacement in the Scottish line-up, Hugh Morris of East Fife scored a hat-trick in a 8-2 win over Northern Ireland and was never picked again. Morris was followed by Archie Linwood of Third Lanark who also found the net in a 2-0 win over Wales but he also was chosen just the once! Billy went on tour to America and had to return early on the Queen Mary for an operation and was never the same player again. He was released by Queens in 1952 and he had brief spells with Berwick Rangers and Third Lanark before hanging up his boots. He renewed his links with Queen of the South in 1957 when he joined the board and was elected chairman in 1962. He stood down in 1994. One of his sons is currently a director of the club, thus extending the almost unbroken family connection well over 50 years. After his playing career, Billy worked in the licensed trade and became a successful hotel proprietor.
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HOULT Alfred AubreyBorn. Died. Leicester 12.98An inside forward who played 9 League games for Northampton Town in 1937/8 after signing from Notts County.
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HOWARD, FrankieFrankie Howard - one of Brighton & Hove Albion's star players of the 1950s - sadly died on the 11th October 2007 at the age of 76 after a short illness.Howard was a teenager when he signed for Albion from Guildford City; he won a professional contract in May 1950 after impressing while on trial. The Acton-born outside-left made his debut for Albion on 4th September in a 1-1 draw at Millwall, in the third division south, and went on to play 219 matches for Albion and scored 31 goals. In 1957/58 Howard was an integral part of the Albion side which won promotion to the old second division under manager Billy Lane. He played 44 games that season and registered vital goals in wins over Colchester and Southend as Albion were crowned champions of the third division south. Howard tore his knee ligaments in March 1959, which brought his career to an early end at the age of 28. He took a job on the ground staff and in 1962 became Albion groundsman - a position he held, with the exception of a short period in the 1960s, until 1993. He was also awarded two testimonials for his loyalty to the club, in 1975 and 1989. The club's condolences are with Frankie's wife Barbara, sons Russell and Adrian, his five grandchildren, his family and many friends. Source: Brighton & Hove Albion official site
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HOWE Leslie FrancisBorn: Bengeo 1912-03-05 Died: North Middlesex 1999-02-23Howe was raised in Tottenham and attended school close to White Hart Lane. He captained the Tottenham Boys team and was capped by England Schools. Naturally he joined Tottenham Hotspur, starting as an amateur in October 1928 from Enfield. He remained on loan with Enfield that season and spent 1929/30 with Spurs' nursery side Northfleet United. In August 1930 he signed as a full professional and made his League debut at Southampton on Boxing Day that year in a 3-0 win. At the time he was the second youngest player to play for the club. He played two further games for the side that season but was then sent back to Northfleet for the following season, helping them to win the Kent Division One League and the Kent League Cup. Playing at right-half or centre-half, he was only 5' 9" tall and weighed just 11 stone. He scored his share of goals and despite his slight stature he more than pulled his weight. A versatile player, he even played in goal in the days before specialist goalkeeping subs were on hand when the regular goalie became injured during a match. By the outbreak of war Les had scored 26 goals in 165 League games and 2 in 17 F.A. Cup. During the war he added 14 goals in 86 wartime games and he guested for Fulham Nottingham Forest, Reading, Swansea, Crewe, Hull, Middlesbrough, Rotherham, Millwall, Bath and Chelmsford. His final game was for Spurs versus Wolves in September 1945. A tackle from Billy Wright, the future England skipper, saw him sustain a knee injury which brought his career to an end. After a period as manager of the club's A team, he briefly acted as trainer-coach to Edmonton Borough and then as manager of Enfield before leaving football in 1949. He continued to live in the area and was a guest of the club at the Nottingham Forest match earlier this season.
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HUGHES Thomas GwynforBorn: Blaeneu Festiniog 1922-05-07 Died: Northampton 1999-03-14Spotted whilst playing rugby by former Cobblers' manager Len Hammond, Gwyn joined Northampton in December 1945 and played in every half-back and forward position for the club over the next 11 seasons. He played for the 3rd Division South against the 3rd Division North and made 225 League appearances for the Cobblers (20 goals), 15 F.A. Cup (4) and 48 wartime games (11) After leaving Northampton in 1956, he played for Bedford Town and finished his career with St Neots.
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HUGHES, Emlyn WalterBorn: Barrow-in-Furness 1947-08-28 Died: Sheffield 2004-11-09Emlyn Hughes was a study in footballing fervour. One of the principal bulwarks of Liverpool's domestic and European glory in the 1970s, he made his initial impact as a youthful midfield dreadnought who rampaged among his opponents like some demonically frisky rhinoceros released suddenly from captivity. Later, having added composure, polish and a measure of subtlety to his game, he matured into a majestically effective defender, and an inspirational captain of the Merseyside Reds and of England. The ebullient, endlessly ambitious Hughes exuded an insatiable will to win that was almost frightening in its intensity, personifying the sporting gospel as preached by his mentor and first Anfield manager Bill Shankly. Yet for all that unbridled enthusiasm, there was a time, in his mid-teens, when the second of the three sons of Fred Hughes, Great Britain and Wales rugby league international, appeared to have no future in professional football. He joined his hometown club Barrow, then in the old Fourth Division, but got no further than the youth team and took a job as a mechanic in a local garage. However, help was at hand in the form of an old friend of his father, Ron Suart, the boss of First Division Blackpool, who invited Hughes for a trial. Such was the youngster's energy and determination that soon he was rewarded by a part-time contract, which was upgraded to professional terms when he was 17, in 1964. At first he struggled in a midfield berth, but when offered an opportunity at left-back in one of the junior sides, he began to thrive. On the last day of the 1965/66 season, still aged only 18, he made his senior début in a local derby at Blackburn, attracting the ire of Rovers fans with a passionately committed display and, more significantly, riveting the attention of the Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, who was watching from the stand. So captivated was Shankly by Hughes's performance that he lodged an immediate £25,000 offer to sign him. The advance was rejected summarily, but after the rookie confirmed his promise in the first half of the subsequent campaign, Liverpool secured their quarry in February 1967. Even though the price had rocketed to £65,000, Shankly could not contain his glee, describing his acquisition as one of the major signings of all time and predicting correctly that he would captain England. Hughes's arrival marked the beginning of the end of an Anfield era. Shankly was making his first tentative moves towards dismantling his wonderful side of the mid-1960s and the bubbly Barrow boy became the first new recruit to gain a regular place. Certainly he wasted no time in making an impact on Merseyside, being deployed in midfield in his first game at home to Stoke City and utterly dominating the Potters' gifted schemer George Eastham. A few matches later, having been switched temporarily to left-back as deputy for the injured Gerry Byrne, Hughes earned a nickname that would stick for the rest of his life. From the day he felled the Newcastle United forward Albert Bennett with an impetuous rugby-style tackle - there was nothing malicious in the challenge, he was merely desperate to be noticed - he was branded "Crazy Horse", a label that tied in perfectly with his galloping gait and overwhelming zest. Not that such eccentric behaviour was necessary to draw attention to a dynamic performer who made gigantic strides in 1967/68, replacing Willie Stevenson at left-half and attracting an offer from Leeds United. Shankly rebuffed the approach emphatically. Hughes's strength and stamina were prodigious and even if he committed himself to rash tackles at times, and if his savagely powerful shooting was unpredictable, his potential was awesome. Although no trophies were garnered around the turn of the decade, Liverpool remained a major force, never far from the League table's summit, and with new talents such as Ray Clemence, Steve Heighway, John Toshack and Kevin Keegan being added to stalwarts such as Hughes, Tommy Smith and Ian Callaghan, they gathered unstoppable impetus in the early 1970s. Hughes, whose progress was reflected by the first of his 62 England caps, playing at left-back against Holland in 1969, had his first close encounter with club glory when the Reds lost the 1971 FA Cup Final to Arsenal, an experience which left him mortified. Soon enough, though, he was pocketing winners' medals, starting with a pair in 1972/73 when Shankly's team lifted the League title and the Uefa Cup. In 1973/74 Hughes, having replaced Smith as captain and formed an enterprising central defensive liaison with Phil Thompson, led Liverpool to FA Cup glory against Newcastle United. By this time his playing style was calmer, more reliant on anticipation than in his buccaneering days of old, and he was all the more impressive for it, his value further enhanced by the ability to turn out at full-back when needed. Ahead of him was a half-decade of fabulous achievement, skippering the side, now guided by Bob Paisley, to another Uefa Cup and League double in 1976, to two European Cup triumphs - against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome in 1977 and over FC Bruges at Wembley a year later - and he pocketed further title gongs in 1977 and 1979. For good measure, he was voted Footballer of the Year in 1977, a year which would have reached even more rarefied heights had not Manchester United beaten Liverpool unexpectedly in the FA Cup Final. The taste of an isolated defeat that afternoon offered a telling illustration of Hughes's rage to win. Ever one to wear his heart on his sleeve, he replaced his characteristic all-embracing grin with a look of such sheer desolation that in the immediate aftermath, when he bumped into the Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher, she was startled by the depth of his emotion. On enquiring how he felt, she was informed: "To tell the truth, love, I'm absolutely knackered." In 1978/79 he suffered serial knee problems which limited him to 16 appearances on that term's title trail and in the following August, shortly before his 32nd birthday and having made 665 appearances for the Reds, he joined Liverpool's First Division rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers for £90,000. It surprised no one in 1979/80 when Hughes captained the Molineux club to League Cup Final triumph over Nottingham Forest and to a sixth-place finish in the top flight. It was during his Wolves tenure that he earned his final England caps, closing an illustrious international career in which he skippered his country 23 times. Having been appointed OBE in 1980 for services to football, he left to become player-manager of Second Division Rotherham United in July 1981, and enjoyed an invigorating first season in charge, steering the Merry Millers to within four points of promotion. But he could not maintain the momentum and he departed in the spring of 1983. Later he played briefly for Hull City and Swansea City, before retiring in that November. After leaving the game, Hughes carved a niche as a television celebrity on shows such as A Question Of Sport and Sporting Triangles and emerged as an outspoken guest columnist in tabloid newspapers, upsetting many people with his trenchant opinions. Still, nothing could besmirch the body of work assembled over nearly 20 years of top-level football. Emlyn Hughes ranks as one of Liverpool's finest - and that's mighty high. Ivan Ponting, The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
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