Johnny Hancocks (30 April 1919 – 19 February 1994) was an English

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 ...

, most associated with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

Career

A diminutive figure, standing just 5' 4" with size 6.5 boots although there was a myth that he wore size 3 boots, Hancocks played in the Wrekin Schools team before making his debut for hometown club Oakengates Town in the Birmingham League, aged just 15. In October 1938, he turned professional with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

of the Third Division South and played a full season of league football there. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

halted his football career, as he joined the army in 1940 and became a physical training instructor. He did, however, manage to make several appearances for the army in representative games and also guested for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

and

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. With the resumption of league football, Hancocks was signed by First Division side

on 11 May 1946 for £4,000, making his debut on 31 August 1946 in a 6-1 thrashing of Arsenal. He claimed his first goal for the club in another 6–1 victory on 12 October, against

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. Th ...

, and added 9 more in his debut season. The following season, he was even more prolific, finishing as joint top scorer (alongside

Jesse Pye Jesse Pye (22 December 191919 February 1984) was an English footballer. He played in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Luton Town and Derby County and scored twice in the 1949 FA Cup Final for the former. Pye's first professio ...

) with 16. Such form won him a call-up to the England team. He made his international debut on 2 December 1948 in a 6-0 hammering of Switzerland at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

, during which Hancocks scored twice. Despite his goalscoring debut, the likes of

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...

and

Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the s ...

saw him overlooked until October 1949 for his next cap (vs

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

), and he subsequently managed only one more cap (vs

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in November 1950). Although international acclaim eluded him, Hancocks enjoyed success at club level as his goals helped fire Wolves to their first league title in 1953–54. Months later, he famously scored a penalty in a friendly against

Budapest Honvéd Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...

. He also collected an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

winners medal in 1949, playing in the 3-1 final win over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, and later scored in the subsequent Charity Shield draw with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He finished as top goalscorer for the club in the 1954–55 and 1955–56 seasons. In total, Hancocks scored 168 goals for Wolves in 378 appearances, making him the fourth highest goalscorer in the club's history. His tally of 158 top-flight goals is still a club record. Despite his goals, he fell out of favour with manager Stan Cullis, and after the signing of

Harry Hooper Harry Bartholomew Hooper (August 24, 1887 – December 18, 1974) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, Ca ...

in 1956, he was relegated to the reserves. After a season out in the cold, he left the Molineux club to become player/manager of non-league Wellington Town in 1957. He took up the managerial reins in September 1959, and left the club later that year. He finished the 1959–60 season with

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

. The following season, he spent spells at Oswestry Town then GKN Sankeys, before retiring in 1961, aged 42. After his playing career ended, he worked at the ironfounders Maddock & Sons in his native

Oakengates Oakengates is a constituent town and civil parish in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The towns parish population was recorded as 8,517 in the 2001 census. Etymology The name is not derived from "oak" or "gates" but is derived from the ...

, until taking retirement on his 60th birthday in 1979. He died on 19 February 1994 aged 74.

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers * First Division champions: 1953–54 ** runners-up: 1949–50, 1954–55 *

winners: 1949 * FA Charity Shield shared: 1949

External links

Official Wolves site profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hancocks, Johnny 1919 births 1994 deaths People from Oakengates English footballers England international footballers Association football wingers Oakengates Athletic F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players GKN Sankey F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players English football managers FA Cup Final players British Army personnel of World War II