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Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former
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 ...
who was part of the hugely successful
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Liverpool players of all time, and was ranked 23rd in the
100 Players Who Shook The Kop Liverpool Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who currently play in the Premier League. They have played at their current home ground, Anfield, since their foundation in 1892. Liv ...
poll. Heighway became academy director at Liverpool in a period when the club brought through such bright talents as Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler and
Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher (; born 28 January 1978) is an English football pundit and former footballer who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's v ...
. He retired in 2007 but later rejoined the Liverpool academy in a consultancy role which he held until retiring again in 2022.


Life and playing career

Though he was born in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland, some of Heighway's early education took place in Sheffield where he attended Ecclesall Junior School (until 1959), followed by High Storrs School and latterly Moseley Hall Grammar School for Boys in Cheadle, near Stockport. Heighway's early promise as a winger was not spotted by professional. Instead he concentrated on his studies in
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
and
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
at the
University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020 ...
in
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
(where he started in 1966) achieving a 2:1. In 1970, Heighway was studying for his final exams and playing for
Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire County Footb ...
when he was spotted by Liverpool's scouting system. With manager Bill Shankly keen to rebuild his ageing, underachieving team of the 1960s, Heighway was signed up swiftly in May of that year. It was due to Heighway's academic achievements that he got his
nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
'Big Bamber', while teammate and fellow university graduate Brian Hall was dubbed 'Little Bamber' – both after the television programme
University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
host
Bamber Gascoigne Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster on ''University Challenge'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987. Early life and education Gasco ...
. A strong and fast left winger with two good feet, Heighway settled into top flight football after making his debut on 22 September 1970 in a
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
2nd round replay at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
against
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
(3-2). Heighway opened his goalscoring account in the 51st minute of a 2–0 home league win over
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
on 21 October 1970. A month later he scored against
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
rivals Everton in a hard-fought 3–2 win, after his team had found themselves 2–0 down not long into the second half. He stayed in the side for the rest of the season as Liverpool's new charges finished the League campaign strongly and also defeated Everton in the semi-finals of the
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 ...
to reach the final at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
. Their opponents were Arsenal, who were after a coveted "double" having won the League championship. Heighway played confidently in a match which was goalless after 90 minutes and therefore needed a period of extra-time. Just two minutes into the added half-hour, Heighway received the ball wide on his left flank from substitute Peter Thompson and started a run towards the Arsenal penalty area, with Gunners full back
Pat Rice Patrick James Rice, MBE (born 17 March 1949) is a Northern Irish former footballer and coach. As a player, he made over 500 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Double, and later made a hundred more appearances for Watford. He also won 49 ca ...
tracking his run but unwilling to put in a tackle. With a swift turn outside Heighway gained a yard on Rice and hit a low drive into the net past Arsenal
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 ...
Bob Wilson, who had committed the cardinal goalkeeping sin of coming out too far from his near post to anticipate a cross, thereby leaving a gap which Heighway exploited. Sadly for Heighway and Liverpool, their opponents scored two goals in response. Heighway settled into the Liverpool team for the next decade, winning the first of four League titles in 1973, along with the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
. He returned to Wembley for another FA Cup final a year later as Liverpool faced Newcastle United. Heighway scored again with 16 minutes of the game remaining to make the score 2–0, latching on to a flick from
John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for the ...
after a long clearance from goalkeeper
Ray Clemence Raymond Neal Clemence, (5 August 1948 – 15 November 2020) was an England international football goalkeeper and part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s. He is one of only 31 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances, and holds the ...
to slot a right-footed shot into the far corner. The game ended 3–0. By now, Heighway was a regular for the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
making his debut on 23 September 1970 against
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. He remained so for the whole of the 1970s, winning a total of 34 caps but never managing to score. He did have a goal disallowed in a qualifier for the
1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...
against
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
. On the domestic front, Heighway attained another League and UEFA Cup double with Liverpool in 1976 and then formed part of the side which came so close to the "treble" of League, FA Cup and European Cup. Liverpool won the League by a single point and again defeated rivals Everton in the semi-final to reach the FA Cup final, this time to face bitter rivals Manchester United at Wembley. Liverpool lost 2–1 and the "treble" dream was dead. Heighway scored his first goal of the 1977 European Cup in a 5–0 first round second leg win over Crusaders. He then scored in a 3–0 second round win against Trabzonspor and in the 3–1 semi-final first leg win over Zurich. Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 to win their first European Cup, with Heighway setting up both outfield goals for
Terry McDermott Terence McDermott (born 8 December 1951) is an English former football midfielder who was a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, in which he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. He was capped 25 times ...
, a defence-splitting pass, and Tommy Smith, a corner. In 1978, Heighway was on the bench as Liverpool retained the European Cup with a 1–0 victory over
FC Bruges (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.
at Wembley, coming on as a substitute for
Jimmy Case James Robert Case (born 18 May 1954) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He gained national prominence with Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Early life Case was brought up in Allerton and was a dis ...
. The following year he was again in the side frequently as Liverpool won another League title, but from 1980 onwards his opportunities in the side diminished. Heighway stayed for two more seasons, appearing only occasionally in the team and missing out on two more League title medals, another European Cup triumph and a first
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
medal, which was successfully defended a year later. He left
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
in 1982 after 444 matches and 76 goals. Heighway then prolonged his career with a move to the
U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, joining
Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initia ...
for the 1981 season. He played 26 games, scoring four goals. He then joined the coaching staff of
Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 10 ...
, which led to a position with the Clearwater Chargers where he pioneered the role of director of coaching in the United States. In 1989 he was asked to rejoin Liverpool to run their youth
academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
, bringing promising youngsters up through the system until they were ready for the professional game. Among Heighway's successes were Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard,
Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher (; born 28 January 1978) is an English football pundit and former footballer who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's v ...
, Dominic Matteo, David Thompson and
Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
. On 4 September 2006, a poll on Liverpool's official web site named Heighway 23rd out of
100 Players Who Shook The Kop Liverpool Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who currently play in the Premier League. They have played at their current home ground, Anfield, since their foundation in 1892. Liv ...
. Heighway announced his retirement from Liverpool on 26 April 2007, immediately after the side he managed won the FA Youth Cup for the second year running. He commented: "I don't know what the future holds just yet, we'll have to wait and see." Heighway returned to working at Liverpool's Academy part-time in 2015, at the request of Academy Director
Alex Inglethorpe Alexander Matthew Inglethorpe (born 14 November 1971) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for Watford, Leyton Orient, Exeter City and Barnet. He is now the Academy Director at Liverpool FC. Biography Playing career Born i ...
, before taking up a full-time consultancy role later that year. After seven years in this position, he retired for a second time in December 2022. Heighway also features in a popular Liverpool chant
Fields of Anfield Road ''The Fields of Anfield Road'' is a football song sung by supporters of Liverpool Football Club. It proceeds to the tune of The Fields of Athenry; composed by singer-songwriter Pete St. John in 1979. Before being adapted by Liverpool supporter Edwar ...
, which is frequently sung by fans of Liverpool during matches.


Honours


As a player

* Football League First Division (5): 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80 *
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 ...
(1): 1973–74 *
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
(1): 1980–81 * FA Charity Shield (4): 1974, 1976, 1977 (shared), 1979 * European Cup (2): 1976–77, 1977–78 *
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
(2): 1972–73, 1975–76 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
(1): 1977


As Academy Director

* FA Youth Cup (3): 1996, 2006, 2007


References


External links


Player profile at LFChistory.netFootball heroes at Sporting-heroes.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heighway, Steve 1947 births Living people Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Liverpool F.C. players Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff Skelmersdale United F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Minnesota Kicks players Association footballers from County Dublin Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players Alumni of the University of Warwick People educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Boys Association football wingers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States UEFA Champions League winning players UEFA Cup winning players People from Ecclesall FA Cup Final players