Billy Whitehurst
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William "Billy" Whitehurst was an English professional footballer during the 1980s-1990s and was widely regarded as the hardest man to have played the game. Respected BBC football pundit Alan Hansen claims that Whitehurst was the hardest footballer he played against, whilst other notable football hardmen Neil "Razor" Ruddock and Vinnie Jones have both stated that Whitehurst was the hardest opponent they faced. Indeed Whitehurst is alleged to have beaten up Jones whilst the two were team mates at Sheffield United.
Whitehurst was born on June 20 in 1959 in Thurnscoe, South Yorkshire and started his career playing for a number of local teams, in the semi - professional leagues, whilst working for the local council as a bricklayer. He eventually made the move into the professional ranks with Hull City in 1980 and after a shaky start soon cemented his place as one of the most popular players to have ever played for the club. His upturn in form had not gone un-noticed and he joined Newcastle United in 1985 as their then record signing. Despite playing in a side featuring Peter Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne, the move did not work out and following a spat with his own supporters Whitehurst joined Oxford United, where it was rumoured he supplemented his football earnings by engaging in bare knuckle boxing bouts with local Gypsies.
The move there was similarly disappointing and Whitehurst became something of a footballing wanderer, playing for a further six football league clubs. Spells at Reading, Sunderland, Sheffield United, Stoke City, Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra and a second spell at Hull City produced mixed results. However, Whitehurst's hard man persona and colourful off field antics ensured he always caused a reaction and cemented his place as something of a cult figure within the game. Whitehurst ended his playing days abroad, playing in Northern Ireland, Australia and Hong Kong before a long-standing knee injury caused his retirement in 1993.
After his football career ended Whitehurst ran several pubs in his native South Yorkshire, however he gave up his license following an alleged assault on a customer for which he was eventually found not guilty. Whitehurst again hit the headlines in 2005 when he was convicted of a £12,000 benefit fraud after failing to declare a footballer's pension whilst he claimed unemployment benefit. Whitehurst claimed the matter was an oversight and he was given a probation order. In mitigation he also admitted to a long standing addiction to gambling which had cost him much of his earnings as a footballer. Today he does occasional work on building sites and trains greyhounds. He has made forays into the after-dinner-speaking circuit and is planning an autobiography entitled "Football's hardest man."
