John Leslie HartThe Les Hart Files
buryfc.co.uk (28 February 1917 – 20 August 1996) was a 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 has an association with one club, Bury for 44 years, as "player, manager, coach and physio".

Early career

Hart was born in

Ashton-in-Makerfield Ashton-in-Makerfield is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south of Wigan. As of the 2021 census, there was a population of 26,380. Historically part of Lancashire, Ashton-in-Makerfield was a to ...

and started his footballing career at Earlstown White Star. He was quickly scouted and a number of clubs were after his signature including Liverpool but he signed for Bury, starting a career which would last until 1980 in various roles. He took over the right-back position from Irish International Bill Gorman. He made his debut against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

on 17 December 1936. Hart would become Bury's Captain for 12 seasons and in 1948/49 season he skippered a side that found themselves four points clear as leaders of Division 2. His career spanned the era of footballing greats including

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' ...

Sir Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game and one of the greatest players of all time, he is the onl ...

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 ...

Bob Paisley Robert Paisley (23 January 1919 – 14 February 1996) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. ...

and

Frank Swift Frank Victor Swift (26 December 1913 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and England. After starting his career with Fleetwood, near his hometown of Blackpool, in 1932 he was signed by ...

. He completed his football coaches badges and physiotherapy qualifications over a period at Lillishall in preparation for his retirement from playing which came after the 1953/54 season. Although his career shows 265 appearances for Bury, he also made over 200 appearances during the war years of 1939–45. After quitting from playing, he worked at Bury as first team trainer/coach, and became the club's physiotherapist. Leeds United offered him a position as head coach but he turned it down to stay at Bury. In season 1969/70 he was asked to take up the position of manager and he steered the club to a record 8–0 win against Tranmere Rovers. In 1971, he reverted to his job as physiotherapist. Les retired on 29 March 1980 after 44 years at one club, Les decided the time was right to look after his wife May, who had suffered from ill health for some time.

Recognition

The South Stand at Bury's ground,

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gi ...

, is named ''The Les Hart Stand'' in his honour.

References

1917 births 1996 deaths Bury F.C. managers Men's association football defenders Footballers from Ashton-in-Makerfield Bury F.C. players English men's footballers English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-defender-1910s-stub