Ken Hancock

Port Vale

Hancock joined Port Vale as an amateur in November 1958 after being approached by Lol Hamlett; he signed as a professional with the "Valiants" the next month.^[1] He made his debut in a 4–2 defeat by Millwall at The Den on 13 December.^[1] He played the remaining 24 games of the 1958–59 season, as manager Norman Low took the club to the Fourth Division title.^[1] Hancock lost his first-team place in November 1959 due to injury but managed to regain it off reserve goalkeeper John Poole by April 1960.^[1] The pair each played 23 Third Division games in the 1959–60 season.^[1] He did, however, miss the FA Cup tie with Aston Villa in front of a Vale Park record crowd of 49,768 due to injury.^[4]

Hancock went on to keep goal 47 times in the 1960–61 campaign, fending off competition from both Poole and John Cooke.^[1] This tally included a clean sheet at Roker Park against a Sunderland front-line led by Brian Clough in the FA Cup; before the match kicked off Hancock had been so overwhelmed by the wall of noise from the 'Roker Roar' that he fell over, though managed to style it out by doing a forward roll.^[3] He injured his ankle in the opening minutes of the replay, but with no substitutions allowed, managed to play on with the help of painkilling injections in what ended as a 3–1 victory.^[3] This win led to an FA cup fifth round defeat at Fulham.^[4]

He was an ever-present during the 51 game 1962–63 season, as Vale finished one place and four points shy of the promotion places under new boss Freddie Steele.^[1] Hancock played 50 games in the 1963–64 campaign, with Cooke deputising on two occasions.^[1] He played in the FA Cup games with Liverpool, where he kept a clean sheet at Anfield before the Vale lost the replay at home.^[4] He made 22 appearances in the 1963–64 season, but faced pressure from new signing Reg Davies.^[1]

Ipswich Town

Hancock was sold to Bill McGarry's Ipswich Town for a £10,000 fee in December 1964.^[1][5] Port Vale had also accepted a bid from Manchester United, though Hancock had already signed with Ipswich before being informed that Matt Busby was trying to contact to him.^[3] He conceded four goals on his debut at Preston North End, much to McGarry's annoyance.^[4] He made 20 Second Division appearances in the 1964–65 season. He played 48 games for the "Blues" in 1965–66 and 1966–67. He featured 45 times in 1967–68, as the Portman Road club won the Second Division title. He played 18 First Division games in 1968–69, before new manager Bobby Robson sold him on to league rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £7,000 in March 1969.^[1] Hancock had found McGarry to be knowledgeable, though "hard to like", but felt Robson "was disrespectful and didn't understand goalkeeping".^[4]

Tottenham Hotspur

Hancock played just six league and cup games for Bill Nicholson's "Spurs" in 1969–70 and 1970–71. He worked as Pat Jennings's deputy whilst Barry Daines and Terry Lee were still learning the game.^[6][7] He played one North London derby game against Arsenal at Highbury, keeping three clean sheets in his six games in all competitions.^[4] He left White Hart Lane and moved on to Bury in July 1971.

Later career

Hancock was signed as a replacement for Neil Ramsbottom, though he would soon lose his first-team place to John Forrest.^[8] He played 35 Fourth Division games for the "Shakers" in 1971–72 and 1972–73 under the stewardship of Allan Brown and then Tom McAnearney.^[9] He then left Gigg Lane and later played Northern Premier League football for Stafford Rangers and Northwich Victoria. Former teammate Roy Sproson tried to bring him back to Port Vale, though no comeback was forthcoming as Hancock had already received his provident fund payout and could not re-sign for a Football League club.^[3]