Stephen Edward Richard Hetzke (born 3 June 1955 in Marlborough, Wiltshire) is an English former 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 ...

. He played as a defender.

Career

Hetzke began his career with Reading, where he twice won promotion from

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

, in 1976, and in 1979 as champions. Hetzke broke the record for the youngest player to appear in a competitive match for Reading, aged 16 years and 191 days. He also scored the first goal of the 1980/81 season, when a League Cup match at Northampton was brought forward to the Friday and he put Reading ahead after seven minutes.Biscuits and Royals by David Downs, Fericon Press, Reading, 1986 He later received a testimonial match after leaving for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in July 1982 for a £12,500 fee, which was settled by a tribunal. He made his debut for Blackpool in the opening league game of the 1982–83 campaign, a 2–1 defeat at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, 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 ...

on 28 August 1982. He went on to make a further 42 league appearances that season, scoring twice. He appeared in all but one of Blackpool's 46 league games in 1983–84, scoring seven goals. Two of these were game-winning penalties in single-goal victories – firstly against

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

at Bloomfield Road on 17 December 1983, and then ten days later against Hartlepool United at the same venue. In 1984–85, Hetzke, who by now was the club's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, made 30 league appearances and scored five goals, including both goals in a 2–0 victory at Torquay United on 15 December 1984. Blackpool won promotion to Division Three at the end of the season. Hetzke's final season at Blackpool, 1985–86, saw him make 23 league appearances and score four goals. His final appearance for the club occurred on 22 February 1986, in a single-goal defeat at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. In March 1986 Hetzke joined

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, although after relegation to Division Three in 1986–87 he moved on to Chester City. He made his Chester debut in a 5–0 home defeat to Northampton Town at the start of 1987–88 and added just thirteen more league appearances before joining Colchester United in a £10,000 transfer in February 1988. Hetzke finished his league career at the Layer Road club at the end of the 1988–89 season.

Honours

Reading *

champions: 1979-80. *

promotion as third-placed team: 1975-76. Blackpool *

promotion as runners-up: 1984-85.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hetzke, Steve 1955 births Living people Blackpool F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English footballers Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football defenders North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players People from Marlborough, Wiltshire Reading F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players English Football League players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players