Kenneth Paul Hancock (born 25 November 1937) is an English former

football goalkeeper Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. He is the younger brother of Ray Hancock. He made 442 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League. He began his professional career at

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in December 1958. He helped the club to win the Fourth Division title in 1958–59, and remained the club's first choice goalkeeper until he was sold on to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

for a £10,000 fee in December 1964. He kept goal as the club won the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

title in 1967–68. He was sold on to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

for £7,000 in March 1969. He moved on to

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

in July 1971, and later played Northern Premier League football for Stafford Rangers and

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

. He later briefly managed

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...

Leek Town.

Playing career

Hancock played for Stoke City, before joining local rivals

as an amateur in November 1958; he signed as a professional with the "Valiants" the next month. He made his debut in a 4–2 defeat by

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...

on 13 December. He played the remaining 24 games of the 1958–59 season, as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Norman Low Norman Harvey Low (23 March 1914 – 21 May 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the son of Scottish international footballer, Wilf Low. A central defender, he played for Newcastle United between 1931 and 1933, before a ...

took the club to the Fourth Division title. Hancock lost his first team place in November 1959 due to injury, but managed to regain it off

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

goalkeeper John Poole by April 1960. The pair each played 23 Third Division games in the 1959–60 season. Hancock went on to keep goal 47 times in the 1960–61 campaign, fending off competition from both Poole and John Cooke. He was an ever-present during the 51 game 1962–63 season, as Vale finished one place and four points shy of the promotion places under new boss

Freddie Steele Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...

. Hancock played 50 games in the 1963–64 campaign, with Cooke deputising on two occasions. He made 22 appearances in the 1963–64 season, but faced pressure from new signing Reg Davies. Hancock was sold to

Bill McGarry William Harry McGarry (10 June 1927 – 15 March 2005) was an England international association footballer and manager who spent 40 years in the professional game. He had a reputation for toughness, both as a player and as a manager. A right- ...

for a £10,000 fee in December 1964. He made 20

appearances in the 1964–65 season. He played 48 games for the "Blues" in 1965–66 and 1966–67. He featured 45 times in 1967–68, as the

Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internation ...

club won the Second Division title. He played 18 First Division games in 1968–69, before new manager

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

sold him on to league rivals

for £7,000 in March 1969. Hancock played just six league and cup games for Bill Nicholson's "Spurs" in 1969–70 and 1970–71. He worked as

Pat Jennings Patrick Anthony Jennings (born 12 June 1945) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 119 international matches for Northern Ireland in an international career which lasted for over 22 years. D ...

's deputy whilst Barry Daines was still learning the game. He left

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...

and moved on to

in July 1971. He played 35 Fourth Division games for the "Shakers" in 1971–72 and 1972–73 under the stewardship of Allan Brown and then Tom McAnearney. He then left

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, G ...

and later played Northern Premier League football for Stafford Rangers and

Coaching career

After retiring as a player he returned to

in July 1975 as a part-time

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

under the management of

Roy Sproson Roy Sproson (23 September 1930 – 24 January 1997) was an English footballer and football manager for Port Vale. A one-club man, he holds the all-time appearance record for Vale, making 837 starts (and 5 substitute appearances) for Vale ...

. He moved on to Cheshire County League side Leek Town as a manager in 1978, later serving as club chairman. He also sat on the Leek and Moorland League management committee. He co-founded Port Vale's Ex-Players Association with former teammate John Poole.

Style of play

Former teammate

described him as: "strong in dealing with crosses, quick reactions and a fine kicker of the ball". He went on to describe a save in 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 ...

tie with Sunderland as one where " eturned in mid-air and managed to push the ball round the post in what still rates as the most fantastic save I have seen to this day." He also had the ability to drop-kick the ball into the opposition

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. With ...

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Port Vale * Football League Fourth Division: 1958–59 Ipswich Town *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1967–68

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Ken 1937 births Living people Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Stoke City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Bury F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players Association football coaches English football managers Leek Town F.C. managers English football chairmen and investors