Robert Taylor Hesford (13 April 1916 – 15 June 1982) was an English professional
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 le ...
who played all his professional career as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
for
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...
.
Biography
Hesford was born in
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
. In 1950, Robert was teaching at Spring Grove Junior school in Huddersfield.. He was praised for his sportsmanship and skill in saving a penalty that was retaken at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
by
J.P.W. Mallalieu in the ''Sporting Manners'' chapter of his book, ''Sporting Days''
References
1916 births
1982 deaths
Footballers from Bolton
English men's footballers
English Football League players
Men's association football goalkeepers
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players
Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players
{{England-footy-goalkeeper-stub