Johnny Hancocks (30 April 1919 – 19 February 1994) was an English

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 ...

, most associated with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

Career

A diminutive figure, standing just 5' 4" with size 6.5 boots although there was a myth that he wore size 3 boots, Hancocks played in the Wrekin Schools team before making his debut for hometown club Oakengates Town in the Birmingham League, aged just 15. In October 1938, he turned professional with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

of the Third Division South and played a full season of league football there. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

halted his football career, as he joined the army in 1940 and became a physical training instructor. He did, however, manage to make several appearances for the army in representative games and also guested for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. With the resumption of league football, Hancocks was signed by First Division side

on 11 May 1946 for £4,000, making his debut on 31 August 1946 in a 6-1 thrashing of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. He claimed his first goal for the club in another 6–1 victory on 12 October, against

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 ...

, and added 9 more in his debut season. The following season, he was even more prolific, finishing as joint top scorer (alongside Jesse Pye) with 16. Such form won him a call-up to the England team. He made his international debut on 2 December 1948 in a 6-0 hammering of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

, during which Hancocks scored twice. Despite his goalscoring debut, the likes of

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...

and

Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of England' ...

saw him overlooked until October 1949 for his next cap (vs

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

), and he subsequently managed only one more cap (vs

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in November 1950). Although international acclaim eluded him, Hancocks enjoyed success at club level as his goals helped fire Wolves to their first league title in 1953–54. Months later, he famously scored a penalty in a friendly against Budapest Honvéd. He also collected an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

winners medal in 1949, playing in the 3-1 final win over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, and later scored in the subsequent Charity Shield draw with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He finished as top goalscorer for the club in the 1954–55 and 1955–56 seasons. In total, Hancocks scored 168 goals for Wolves in 378 appearances, making him the fourth highest goalscorer in the club's history. His tally of 158 top-flight goals is still a club record. Despite his goals, he fell out of favour with manager

Stan Cullis Stanley Cullis (25 October 1916 – 28 February 2001) was an English professional footballer and manager, primarily for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964, Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the En ...

, and after the signing of Harry Hooper in 1956, he was relegated to the reserves. After a season out in the cold, he left the Molineux club to become player/manager of non-league Wellington Town in 1957. He took up the managerial reins in September 1959, and left the club later that year. He finished the 1959–60 season with

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

. The following season, he spent spells at Oswestry Town then GKN Sankeys, before retiring in 1961, aged 42. After his playing career ended, he worked at RAF Cosford 1974/75/76. he worked at the ironfounders Maddock & Sons in his native Oakengates, until taking retirement on his 60th birthday in 1979. He died on 19 February 1994 aged 74.

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers * First Division: 1953–54; runners-up: 1949–50, 1954–55 *

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

shared:

External links

Official Wolves site profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hancocks, Johnny 1919 births 1994 deaths People from Oakengates English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Oakengates Athletic F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players GKN Sankey F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players English football managers British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English sportsmen