Billy Whitehurst

Billy Whitehurst

Personal information
Full name	William Whitehurst
Date of birth	(1959-06-10) 10 June 1959
Place of birth	Thurnscoe, England
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1977–1978	Retford Town
1978–1980	Bridlington Trinity
1980	Mexborough Town
1980–1985	Hull City	193	(47)
1985–1986	Newcastle United	28	(7)
1986–1988	Oxford United	40	(4)
1988	Reading	17	(8)
1988	Sunderland	17	(3)
1988–1990	Hull City	36	(5)
1990–1991	Sheffield United	22	(2)
1990	→ Stoke City (loan)	3	(0)
1991–1992	Doncaster Rovers	22	(1)
1992	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	10	(0)
1992	St George-Budapest	11	(4)
1992	Hatfield Main
1992	Kettering Town	4	(0)
1992	Goole Town
1992	Stafford Rangers	2	(0)
1992	Mossley	2	(0)
1993	Glentoran	6	(4)
1993	South China	4	(1)
1993–1994	Voicelink
1994–1995	Frickley Athletic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William "Billy" Whitehurst (born 10 June 1959) is a retired English professional footballer active during the 1980s and 1990s. Whitehurst's robust style of play attracted much notoriety and he is considered by many to have been the hardest player to have played the game.

Career

Whitehurst was born in Thurnscoe and started his career playing for a number of semi-professional teams in South Yorkshire, Retford Town, Bridlington Trinity and Mexborough Town, whilst also working for the local council as a bricklayer. He eventually made the move into the professional ranks with Hull City in 1980 signing for a £2,000 fee. He initially struggled with the demands of the professional game but eventually sealed his place as one of the most popular players to have ever played for the club. He helped the Tigers win promotion in 1982–83 and 1984–85 with Whitehurst scoring a career best of 24 goals.

His upturn in form had not gone un-noticed and he joined Newcastle United in 1985 as their then record signing for £232,000. Despite playing in a side containing Peter Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne, the move did not work out and Whitehurst failed to score in his first 11 appearances for the club. A spat with his own supporters signalled the end of his career on Tyneside and after playing only 28 league games he was transferred to Oxford United in 1986. However the move there was similarly short-lived, and Whitehurst left after a clash with assistant manager Ray Graydon.

He then joined Reading in February 1988 scoring eight goals in 19 matches for the Royals he left for Sunderland scoring three in 18 matches before making a return to Hull City. Whitehurst spent a year and a half back at Boothferry Park before joining Sheffield United. Whitehurst helped the Blades gain promotion in 1989–90 and spent a short time out on loan at Stoke City in 1990–91 where he played in five matches. Whitehurst ended his professional career at Doncaster Rovers during which time he also played on loan for Crewe Alexandra.

However, Whitehurst's hard man persona and colourful off field antics ensured he always caused a reaction and cemented his place as something of a cult figure within the game. Whitehurst ended his playing days abroad, playing in Northern Ireland, Australia and in Hong Kong with South China (1992–93) before a long-standing knee injury caused his retirement in 1993.

After football

Since leaving the game Whitehurst has trained greyhounds, ran several public houses in his native South Yorkshire and worked in the building trade and in the stores at BP Saltend and Drax Power Station. In 2008, he was found guilty of benefit fraud and given a suspended prison sentence.

Career statistics

• Sourced from The English National Football Archive

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hull City	1980–81	Third Division	26	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	1
	1981–82	Fourth Division	36	6	5	2	2	0	3	1	46	9
	1982–83	Fourth Division	36	3	2	0	2	1	3	1	43	5
	1983–84	Third Division	37	10	2	1	2	0	5	0	46	11
	1984–85	Third Division	40	20	1	0	3	3	2	1	46	24
	1985–86	Second Division	18	7	1	0	3	2	3	3	25	12
	Total		193	47	11	3	12	6	16	6	232	62
Newcastle United	1985–86	First Division	20	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	28	7
	1986–87	First Division	8	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	10	0
	Total		28	7	1	0	2	0	0	0	38	7
Oxford United	1986–87	First Division	20	2	1	0	0	0	1	2	22	4
	1987–88	First Division	20	2	1	0	5	0	1	0	27	2
	Total		40	4	2	0	5	0	2	2	49	6
Reading	1987–88	Second Division	15	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	6
	1988–89	Third Division	2	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	2
	Total		17	8	0	0	2	0	0	0	19	8
Sunderland	1988–89	Second Division	17	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	18	3
	Total		17	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	18	3
Hull City	1988–89	Second Division	21	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	24	7
	1989–90	Second Division	15	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
	Total		36	5	4	2	0	0	0	0	40	7
Sheffield United	1989–90	Second Division	14	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	2
	1990–91	First Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
	Total		22	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	23	2
Stoke City (loan)	1990–91	Third Division	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	Total		3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Doncaster Rovers	1990–91	Fourth Division	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	1
	1991–92	Fourth Division	9	0	2	1	2	2	0	0	13	3
	Total		22	1	2	1	2	2	0	0	26	4
Crewe Alexandra	1991–92	Fourth Division	10	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	11	0
	Total		10	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	11	0
Career Total			388	77	22	6	23	8	21	8	454	99

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Group Cup, Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup.

Honours

Hull City

• Football League Fourth Division runner-up: 1982–83
• Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 1984–85

Sheffield United

• Football League Second Division runner-up: 1989–90

External links

• Interview with Billy Whitehurst on Talksport