Roy Warhurst

Roy Warhurst

Personal information
Full name	Roy Warhurst[1]
Date of birth	(1926-09-18)18 September 1926[1]
Place of birth	Sheffield, England
Date of death	7 January 2014(2014-01-07) (aged 87)[1]
Place of death	Birmingham,[1] England
Position(s)	Wing half
Youth career
1942-1943	Atlas & Norfolk Works
1943–1944	Huddersfield Town
1944	Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1944–1950	Sheffield United	17	(2)
1950–1957	Birmingham City	213	(10)
1957–1959	Manchester City	40	(2)
1959–1960	Crewe Alexandra	51	(1)
1960–1961	Oldham Athletic	8	(0)
1961–1964	Banbury Spencer
Total		329	(15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roy Warhurst (18 September 1926 – 7 January 2014) was an English footballer who made more than 300 appearances in the Football League playing for Sheffield United, Birmingham City, Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Oldham Athletic.[2] He played as a wing half.

Warhurst was born in Handsworth, Sheffield. He began his football career during the Second World War as a youth with Atlas & Norfolk Works before signing as an amateur with Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United, and turned professional with the latter in September 1944. His early career was as a winger, but after he joined Birmingham City for an £8,000 fee in 1950, he was converted to wing half.[3] His forceful style contributed much to the club's Second Division title in the 1954–55 season and to their performances in the First Division and the FA Cup the following season.[4][5] 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:[3] teammate Alex Govan was convinced that "if Roy Warhurst had been fit then there would only have been one winner".[6]

He succeeded Len Boyd as Birmingham captain at the end of that season,[7] and 12 months later signed for Manchester City for a £10,000 fee. He spent 18 months at City before moving on to Crewe Alexandra and then to Oldham Athletic, where he was appointed captain.[3] A spell in non-league football with Banbury Spencer preceded his retirement from the game in 1964.[3]

Warhurst went on to become a scrap metal dealer.[3] He was married to Jean and had three children. He died in January 2014 at the age of 87.[8]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sheffield United[9]	1946–47	First Division	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
	1947–48	First Division	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	1948–49	First Division	6	1	2	1	—		8	2
	1949–50	Second Division	9	1	2	0	—		11	1
	Total		17	2	4	1	—		21	3
Birmingham City[10]	1949–50	First Division	3	0	—		—		3	0
	1950–51	Second Division	9	2	0	0	—		9	2
	1951–52	Second Division	36	1	2	0	—		38	1
	1952–53	Second Division	31	1	6	0	—		37	1
	1953–54	Second Division	37	0	1	0	—		38	0
	1954–55	Second Division	34	4	3	0	—		37	4
	1955–56	First Division	30	2	4	0	1[a]	0	35	2
	1956–57	First Division	33	0	7	0	2[a]	0	42	0
	Total		213	10	23	0	3	0	239	10
Manchester City[11]	1957–58	First Division	37	2	1	0	—		38	2
	1958–59	First Division	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
	Total		40	2	1	0	—		41	2
Crewe Alexandra[12]	1958–59	Fourth Division	9	0	—		—		9	0
	1959–60	Fourth Division	42	1	4	0	—		46	1
	Total		51	1	4	0	—		55	1
Oldham Athletic[13]	1960–61	Second Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Career total			329	15	32	1	3	0	364	16

1. Appearance(s) in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Honours

Birmingham City

• Football League Second Division: 1954–55
• FA Cup runner-up: 1955–56

Sources

• Crisp, Marco (1998). Crewe Alexandra Match by Match. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 978-1-899468-81-2.
• Dykes, Garth (1988). Oldham Athletic: A Complete Record 1899–1988. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-0-907969-36-5.
• Goble, Ray; Ward, Andrew (1993). Manchester City A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-873626-41-2.
• Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: Derby Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.

References

1. "Roy Warhurst". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
2. "Roy Warhurst". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
3. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
4. "Birmingham worthy victors: Storming test survived: Arsenal 1 Birmingham City 3". The Times. London. 5 March 1956. p. 4. ...their acutely drilled and disciplined defence – founded upon the authority of their half-backs Boyd, Smith and Warhurst.
5. "Birmingham's power at half-back: Brown's three goals upset Charlton". The Times. London. 6 February 1956. p. 3. ... the towering young Smith, centre-half in the England Intermediate (Under 23) XI, is flanked by two men, Boyd and Warhurst, who keep the ball flowing forward quickly all the time. There are no superfluous frills about them. Their accent is on a quick release along the lines of longitude. They are the real driving force.
6. "Former Blues: Alex Govan". Birmingham City F.C. 2007. Archived from the original on 18 September 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
7. "Len goes and Roy takes over". Birmingham Mail. 18 August 1956. p. 4.
8. "RIP Roy Warhurst". Birmingham City F.C. 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
9. "Player search: Warhurst, R (Roy)". English National Football Archive (ENFA). Retrieved 8 April 2024.
10. Matthews (2010), pp. 334–349, 473.
11. Goble & Ward (1993), pp. 264–267, 349.
12. Crisp (1998), pp. 90–91.
13. Dykes (1988), pp. 358–359.