Dave Hickson
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David Hickson (30 October 1929 – 8 July 2013) was an English professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...
for Everton,
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
,
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
,
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Cambridge City, Bury and
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...


Career

Hickson started his football career as a teenager with non-league Ellesmere Port Town, where his robust style and keen eye for goal were noticed by the Everton manager Cliff Britton. He signed for the ''Toffees'' in 1948, but serving his stint of National Service delayed his debut for another three years. During this period he played for the Cheshire Army Cadets team, and it was with them that he was coached by the Everton legend Dixie Dean. It is fairly safe to assume that Dave developed the physical side of his game in this period. Hickson made his debut for Everton in September 1951 against
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
, with the Blues in Division Two for only the second season in their history. Hickson was soon a regular fixture in the Everton side. Perhaps the defining moment in Dave's career came in Everton's
1952–53 FA Cup The 1952–53 FA Cup was the 72nd season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Blackpool won the competition for the first time, beating Bolton Wanderers 4–3 in the ...
run. The Blues were still in Division Two, and home wins against
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
and
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
put Everton into the fifth round, where they were drawn with
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
. In front of a capacity crowd at Goodison Park, Hickson launched himself headlong in amongst flying boots and emerged with a huge gash above one eyebrow. Hickson was led off down the tunnel, with the crowd fully expecting Everton to play the remainder with 10 men, as substitutes were not yet permitted. He emerged from the tunnel in the second half, greeted by a huge ovation from the crowd, with a row of freshly applied stitches holding the wound together. Minutes later Hickson scored what would end up as the winning goal, then headed against the post and opened the wound again. Despite pleas from both the referee and his captain to leave the field Hickson remained to the end of the game, his blond hair now red, and his shirt the same colour as the United ones. Hickson was also the match-winner in the quarter final against
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
, with a thunderbolt shot from the edge of the box, after starting the move himself behind the halfway line. An epic year for cup ties this, as Everton next faced
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
at
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. Hickson again received a head injury in this game, and was forced to retire with 15 minutes of the game to go. This was not until he'd scored a goal in an improbable comeback from 4-0 down at half time. The final score was 4–3, with Bolton going on to be defeated by the same score against
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
in the "
Matthews final The 1953 FA Cup final, also known as the Matthews Final, was the eighth to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War. The football match was contested between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, with Blackpool winning 4–3, equalling the ...
". Everton soon returned to Division One, as Hickson's haul of 25 goals in the 1953–54 season helped them gain
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to the top flight. After just one season back in the top flight with Everton, Hickson was sold to Aston Villa for £17,500. He never settled at
Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...
and played just 12 games in a brief stay. He moved next to
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
, where he spent a further two years. Although his record at Huddersfield was respectable, Hickson was not content and he was happy to return to Goodison for a second spell in 1957 for £7,500. At least the board made a tidy profit on these deals. Hickson's second spell was not as productive as his first, but his passion & determination remained, and the Goodison Park faithful still worshipped him. When Everton sold him to their
Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is an association football match between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, two clubs based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is the longest running top-flight local derby, derby in England, with its fi ...
rivals
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1959, there was much dissent. Hickson was undoubtedly revered at Everton, but equally despised by the red half of the city. Supporters of the ''Reds'', then struggling in Division Two, would soon be appeased. Hickson scored twice on his Liverpool debut at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
, watched by a crowd 15,000 higher than the average that season. Days later Liverpool had a new manager,
Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool F.C., Liverpool. Shankly brought su ...
. Shankly had previously managed Hickson at Huddersfield and again made effective use of Hickson's style. His return of 21 goals in 27 games that season almost took Liverpool back to the top flight. Another near promotion the following year and a return of 16 goals in 33 would see the end of Hickson's stint with Liverpool. Hickson was now nearing 32 and had to make way for Shankly's new signings. Hickson moved on, via non league Cambridge City, to Bury for a short spell, playing just a handful of games. He headed back to Merseyside in the twilight of his career, with a productive last couple of league seasons at
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...
. He was Rovers' leading scorer in the 1962/63 season with 23 goals, at the age of 34. Dave continued after this outside the Football League, playing for Ellesmere Port Town and
Ballymena United Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds. The club has been man ...
(player/manager for both), and as a player at Winsford, Northwich Victoria and Fleetwood F.C.. It is often said of Hickson that he is the only player to have played "for all three Merseyside clubs". This is wrong for several reasons: two other players, John Heydon and Frank Mitchell, also played for all three of Everton, Liverpool and Tranmere Rovers. But New Brighton were
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
members from 1923 to 1951 and Bill Lacey and Neil McBain played for all three of Everton, Liverpool and New Brighton. In addition, John Whitehead played for Liverpool, Everton and also for Bootle in their one year as a league team (1892/93), before they were replaced in Division 2 by Liverpool.


Style of play

His physical approach as centre forward, coupled with his determination soon made him a crowd favourite. Off the pitch, Hickson was a different man, quiet and unassuming, but the Dave Hickson that pulled on a Blue shirt and entered battle every Saturday afternoon was an aggressive character, no quarter given or asked. This aggression would lead to several run-ins with officials, and three sendings-off during his career, but that was his style & the fans loved it. A youthful Hickson with his striking appearance, fully quiffed up with a shock of blonde hair, as was the style of the day, was one of the few things to get excited about on the terraces of Goodison Park. Dave Hickson soon forged a productive partnership with John Willie Parker, with Hickson being the target man. Although his reputation as an aerial threat was well known, Hickson was also a difficult opponent with the ball on the floor, and could produce a powerful shot, which earned him the nickname Cannonball Kid.


Death

On 8 July 2013, Hickson died after a short illness, at the age of 83.Huddersfield Town
/ref> His funeral service was held on 25 July 2013 at Liverpool Cathedral.


References


External links


LFCHistory.net profileLegends Feature from barmyarmyuk Blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickson, David 1929 births 2013 deaths Military personnel from Salford 20th-century British military personnel Footballers from Ellesmere Port English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Ellesmere Port Town F.C. players Everton F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Bury F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Ballymena United F.C. managers Ballymena United F.C. players Cambridge City F.C. players English football managers 20th-century English sportsmen NIFL Premiership managers Bangor F.C. managers NIFL Premiership players