Roy Warhurst (18 September 1926 – 7 January 2014) 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 made more than 300 appearances 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 ...

playing for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. He played as a

wing half 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. ...

. Warhurst was born in Handsworth,

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 ...

. He began his football career during the

Second World War 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 ...

as a youth with Atlas & Norfolk Works before signing as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

with

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

, and turned professional with the latter in September 1944. His early career was as a winger, but after he joined

for an £8,000 fee in 1950, he was converted to

. His forceful style contributed much to the club's

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

title in the 1954–55 season and to their performances in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

and the

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 ...

the following season. Warhurst injured a thigh in the sixth-round FA Cup match, and missed the rest of the season, and his absence was considered a significant factor in Birmingham's losing the 1956 Cup Final: teammate

Alex Govan Alexander Govan (16 June 1929 – 10 June 2016) was a Scottish professional footballer who played at outside left. Most of his career was spent with Plymouth Argyle (in two spells) and with Birmingham City during their most successful perio ...

was convinced that "if Roy Warhurst had been fit then there would only have been one winner". He succeeded

Len Boyd Leonard Arthur Miller Boyd (11 November 1923 − 14 February 2008) was an English professional footballer who played 333 matches in the Football League in the 1940s and 1950s. After serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Boyd sig ...

as Birmingham

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

at the end of that season, and 12 months later signed for

for a £10,000 fee. He spent 18 months at City before moving on to

and then to

, where he was appointed captain. A spell in

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with Banbury Spencer preceded his retirement from the game in 1964. Warhurst went on to become a scrap metal dealer. He was married to Jean and had three children. He died in January 2014 at the age of 87.

Career statistics

Honours

Birmingham City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1954–55 *

runner-up: 1955–56

Sources

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warhurst, Roy 1926 births 2014 deaths Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Sheffield United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Banbury United F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen