Roy Warhurst

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.

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

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
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sheffield United[9] 1946–47 First Division2000—20
1947–48 First Division0000—00
1948–49 First Division6121—82
1949–50 Second Division9120—111
Total 17241—213
Birmingham City[10] 1949–50 First Division30——30
1950–51 Second Division9200—92
1951–52 Second Division36120—381
1952–53 Second Division31160—371
1953–54 Second Division37010—380
1954–55 Second Division34430—374
1955–56 First Division302401[lower-alpha 1]0352
1956–57 First Division330702[lower-alpha 1]0420
Total 213102303023910
Manchester City[11] 1957–58 First Division37210—382
1958–59 First Division3000—30
Total 40210—412
Crewe Alexandra[12] 1958–59 Fourth Division90——90
1959–60 Fourth Division42140—461
Total 51140—551
Oldham Athletic[13] 1960–61 Second Division80000080
Career total 329153213036416
  1. Appearance(s) in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Honours

Birmingham City

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.
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