Leslie Brown Hofton (3 March 1888 – January 1971) 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 full-back for

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 two spells in the 1910s. Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, Hofton began his career at

Kiveton Park Kiveton Park is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, from the Norman conquest to 1868, Kiveton was a hamlet of the parish of Harthill-with ...

, before moving to

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak (borough), High Peak, Derbyshire, England, east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Mancheste ...

via

Worksop Town Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The team play in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop. History Previous clubs The club claims it w ...

and Denaby United in April 1908. In July 1910, Hofton became Manchester United's first £1,000 signing, beating the previous club record of £700, which was spent on

Alex Bell Alexander Bell (20 October 1882 – 30 November 1934) was a footballer who played as a wing half. His professional career was mostly spent in England, where he won trophies with Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers. Born in South Africa, he w ...

in 1903. However, despite his record price tag, it took Hofton seven months to make his United debut, appearing for the first time away to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

on 18 February 1911. He then left the club on a free transfer in May 1913. The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out just over a year later, but one year after its conclusion, in September 1919, Hofton re-signed for Manchester United. He continued to play for the club for two-and-a-half more years, amassing a total of 18 appearances for the club, before being sold to Denaby United in February 1922.

References

External links

Profile
at MUFCinfo.com 1888 births 1971 deaths Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Kiveton Park F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players English Football League players Denaby United F.C. players English Football League representative players {{England-footy-defender-1880s-stub