The swashbuckling Yorkshireman was the without doubt the Alan Shearer of his day.
He was strong, good in the air and a natural goalscorer as well as possessing considerable skill on the ball. Such was the measure of the man that early in the 1951–2 season he asked manager Stan Cullis to drop him as he felt he was not in top form. Yet the previous summer he had scored 17 goals in nine games on Wolves’ tour of South Africa, including six in one game. A spell in the reserves saw him bounce back to such effect that a place in the England team seemed inevitable. He was the goalscoring hero against Honved, arguably the most famous game in the club’s history, his brace completing a second-half Wolves comeback after being two down at half-time. He began the 1955–6 season by scoring 17 goals in the first 11 games. That spell saw him hit hat-tricks in three successive weekends. He then sustained an injury which sadly proved the ending of his career.
Date of birth: August 25, 1929, Denaby Main, Yorkshire.
Years with Club: 1948 to 1957.
Club signed from: Joined as trainee.
Appearances: 230.
Goals: 114.
International caps: 1 England B (1 goal).
