Roy Warhurst
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roy Warhurst[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 September 1926[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
| Date of death | 7 January 2014 (aged 87)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Birmingham,[1] England | ||
| Position(s) | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1942-1943 | Atlas & Norfolk Works | ||
| 1943–1944 | Huddersfield Town | ||
| 1944 | Sheffield United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1944–1950 | Sheffield United | 17 | (2) |
| 1950–1957 | Birmingham City | 213 | (10) |
| 1957–1959 | Manchester City | 40 | (2) |
| 1959–1960 | Crewe Alexandra | 51 | (1) |
| 1960–1961 | Oldham Athletic | 8 | (0) |
| 1961–1964 | Banbury Spencer | ||
| Total | 329 | (15) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Roy Warhurst (18 September 1926 – 7 January 2014) was an English footballer who made more than 300 appearances in the Football League playing for Sheffield United, Birmingham City, Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Oldham Athletic.[2] He played as a wing half.
Warhurst was born in Handsworth, Sheffield. He began his football career during the Second World War as a youth with Atlas & Norfolk Works before signing as an amateur with Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United, and turned professional with the latter in September 1944. His early career was as a winger, but after he joined Birmingham City for an £8,000 fee in 1950, he was converted to wing half.[3] His forceful style contributed much to the club's Second Division title in the 1954–55 season and to their performances in the First Division and the FA Cup the following season.[4][5] Warhurst injured a thigh in the sixth-round FA Cup match, and missed the rest of the season, and his absence was considered a significant factor in Birmingham's losing the 1956 Cup Final:[3] teammate Alex Govan was convinced that "if Roy Warhurst had been fit then there would only have been one winner".[6]
He succeeded Len Boyd as Birmingham captain at the end of that season,[7] and 12 months later signed for Manchester City for a £10,000 fee. He spent 18 months at City before moving on to Crewe Alexandra and then to Oldham Athletic, where he was appointed captain.[3] A spell in non-league football with Banbury Spencer preceded his retirement from the game in 1964.[3]
Warhurst went on to become a scrap metal dealer.[3] He was married to Jean and had three children. He died in January 2014 at the age of 87.[8]