John Hickton
English footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Hickton (born 24 September 1944) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a striker for Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and Hull City, and in the North American Soccer League for Fort Lauderdale Strikers.[2] He is noted for his prolific scoring for Middlesbrough between 1966 and 1976.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 September 1944 | ||
| Place of birth | Chesterfield, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1963–1966 | Sheffield Wednesday | 53 | (21) |
| 1966–1978 | Middlesbrough | 415 | (159) |
| 1976–1977 | → Hull City (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 1978 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 3 | (1) |
| Whitby Town | |||
| Total | 477 | (182) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Hickton was born in Brimington, near Chesterfield in Derbyshire.[2] He started his career at Sheffield Wednesday, and made his debut in the Football League First Division on 7 March 1964 in a 2–2 draw away to Aston Villa. He went on to score 21 goals from 56 appearances,[3] which caught the eye of Middlesbrough manager Stan Anderson, who took Hickton to Teesside in 1966.
Hickton was a goalscoring legend at Middlesbrough where he scored 192 goals in 10 years at the club, making nearly 500 appearances.[4] As of 2009, he ranked fourth in the club's all-time goalscorers list and third in terms of appearances,[5] behind George Camsell, George Elliott and Brian Clough, and Tim Williamson and Gordon Jones respectively.
