Ian Butler (born 1 February 1944 in

Darton Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 14,927, increasing to 21,345 for both Darton War ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

) is an English former 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 in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

and

. His son, Martin Butler, also played for York City.

Club career

Butler began his career at Rotherham United where he established himself down the left wing and played alongside players such as Ken Houghton in a highly promising team with a significant number of locally developed players. Together with Houghton, he moved to Hull City during the 1964–65 season, much to the displeasure of Rotherham's fans. He became part of a formidable attacking line including

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was one-third of ...

, Ken Wagstaff and

Chris Chilton Christopher Roy Chilton (25 June 1943 – 20 May 2021) was an English professional footballer who played the majority of his career in the Football League for Hull City. Towards the end of his career, he also had short spells with Coventry Cit ...

, whose performances took Hull City to the Third Division title in 1966 and established the side as a Second Division force in the 1960s and 1970s. He finished his League career with York City and a loan spell at Barnsley.

International career

He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

by the England national youth team in 1962.

Honours

Hull City * Third Division: 1965–66

References

External links

* 1944 births Living people English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football wingers Rotherham United F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players York City F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Bridlington Town A.F.C. players English Football League players People from Darton Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley Footballers from South Yorkshire {{England-footy-forward-1940s-stub