Tony Hateley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tony Hateley | ||
| Date of birth | 13 June 1941 | ||
| Place of birth | Derby, England | ||
| Date of death | 1 February 2014 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Preston, Lancashire, England[1] | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1958–1963 | Notts County | 131 | (77) |
| 1963–1966 | Aston Villa | 127 | (68) |
| 1966–1967 | Chelsea | 27 | (6) |
| 1967–1968 | Liverpool | 56 | (28) |
| 1968–1969 | Coventry City | 17 | (4) |
| 1969–1970 | Birmingham City | 28 | (6) |
| 1970–1972 | Notts County | 57 | (32) |
| 1973–1974 | Oldham Athletic | 5 | (1) |
| 1974 | Boston Minutemen | 3 | (0) |
| – | Bromsgrove Rovers | ||
| – | Prescot Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Hateley started his career with Notts County, where he first established himself as a prolific goalscorer, especially through his heading ability, and scored 77 league goals in 131 matches. The club won promotion to the Third Division in 1960–61, while Hateley's goals earned him a move to County's Midlands rivals Aston Villa in 1963. Hateley continued his prolific scoring record at Villa, once scoring four second-half goals as Villa came from 5–1 down to draw 5–5 with Tottenham Hotspur,[2] [3]and his 86 goals in less than 150 games played a significant part in saving the club from relegation to the Second Division. In October 1966 Chelsea's offer of £100,000 for Hateley was accepted and he moved to west London. Such was his importance to Villa, they were relegated at the end of the 1966–67 season.
The £100,000 fee Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty paid for Hateley was a club record and he arrived as a replacement for recent broken leg victim Peter Osgood.[4] However, Chelsea's game had previously been based around quick passing and movement, while Hateley had thrived on crosses and long balls, meaning the team's style had to be adapted to accommodate him. Though his aerial ability was one of the best in his era, Hateley's technical ability was more lacking – Docherty once commented that Hateley's passes ought to be labelled "to whom it may concern" – and he struggled at the club. He scored six league goals during the season, and the highlight of his time at Chelsea came in the FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United when he headed in the winning goal at Villa Park. He also played in Chelsea's 2–1 final loss to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.[5]
Having scored a total of nine goals in 33 appearances, in June 1967 Hateley was sold to Bill Shankly's Liverpool, who broke his own club's record in paying £96,000 for him.[1] He scored 27 goals for Liverpool in the 1967–68 season,[1] including hat-tricks against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, but once again Hateley's style did not suit his team's and he moved on after a year, this time to Coventry City. After a season at Coventry he was sold to Birmingham City and then returned to his first club, Notts County, where he rediscovered his scoring touch and led them to the Fourth Division title in 1970–71. After a brief stint at Oldham Athletic and 3 matches for the Boston Minutemen in the North American Soccer League he retired from the game in 1974, having scored almost 250 career goals. He was never capped for England.
After his retirement from the professional game he played in non-League for Bromsgrove Rovers and in season 1975-76 he returned to Merseyside and played for Prescot Town in the Mid-Cheshire League.[6]
At the time of his retirement his combined transfer fees were a record for a single player in English football.
He died aged 72 on 1 February 2014, after a long illness.[7][8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Beesley, Chris (1 February 2014). "Former Liverpool player Tony Hateley dies aged 72". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
- ↑ "Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa, 19 March 1966". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ↑ "Great Games: Tottenham Hotspur 5 Aston Villa 5 - March 19, 1966". Birmingham Mail. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ↑ "Notts County legend Tony Hateley was front page news in the Post in June 1963". Nottingham Post. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ↑ "Classic London Cup Finals". London Evening Standard. 30 April 2002. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ↑ Ponting, Ivor (2 February 2014). "Tony Hateley: Footballer acclaimed for his prowess in the air who was a prolific goalscorer for Bill Shankly’s Liverpool side". The Independent. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ↑ "Former Chelsea and Liverpool striker Tony Hateley dies". BBC Sport. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
- ↑ "Tony Hateley - obituary". Daily Telegraph. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.