Kenneth Hardwick (6 January 1924 – 4 June 1977) 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

and Barrow.

Playing career

Hardwick first played for Rovers during the war, 26 games in total. From his league debut against

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 ...

on 26 December 1947, Hardwick became Rovers first choice keeper. That season Rovers were relegated from The Second Division but in the 1949−50 season they stormed the Third Division North and gained promotion back to League Division 2 where he spent the rest of his time with them. With the legendary

Harry Gregg Harry Gregg (27 October 1932 – 16 February 2020) was a Northern Irish professional footballer and manager. A goalkeeper, he played for Manchester United during the reign of Sir Matt Busby, with a total of 247 appearances for the club. He was ...

as his understudy for four seasons, this was a golden period for Doncasters keepers. In 1955, at the age of 30, Hardwick was invited to an England Under-23 trial. The FA withdrew the invitation once the error was realised. After Harry Gregg took over his position at Doncaster, he moved first to Scunthorpe, then ended his playing days at Barrow.

References

External links

Profile on doncasterrovers.co.ukPathe News video of Hardwick in goal for Doncaster against Arsenal, 1953 − 3rd Round F.A. Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, Ken 1977 deaths Footballers from County Durham Men's association football goalkeepers Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Rossington Main F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players English Football League players English men's footballers 1924 births People from West Auckland 20th-century English sportsmen