Arthur Edward Hufton (25 November 1892 – 2 February 1967) was an

England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliat ...

goalkeeper who earned six caps for his country. Born in Southwell,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, he spent the majority of his career at West Ham United but also had spells at Sheffield United and

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Club career

He began his playing career at Atlas & Norfolk Works in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, before becoming a Sheffield United player for a fee of £20. He was generally regarded as understudy to Harold Gough, which limited his appearances during his time at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he joined the Coldstream Guards but was wounded in France. On recovering he would play regularly for West Ham United as a guest player and eventually transferred to the Hammers permanently after the end of the conflict. West Ham United paid £300 for his services fee and he went on to play for the club until 1932, becoming a Hammers legend. He made 456 appearances for West Ham (54 as a wartime guest), ranking him twelfth in the list of appearances for the club, even playing at right back for one of these games. He was part of the West Ham team that were elected to

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for the first time in 1919, and went on to win promotion to the First Division during the 1922–23 season. He also appeared in the famous

White Horse Final The 1923 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football A ...

, the first

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 ...

final at the brand new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. Hufton finished his playing career with

, for whom he played two league matches in the 1932–33 season.

International career

He made his international début against Belgium on 1 November 1923, the game finishing 2–2. During his second international game, on 22 October 1927 at

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...

, Belfast, against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Hufton broke his arm and had to leave the pitch after 40 minutes to be rushed to hospital. England's

Jack Hill Jack Hill (born January 28, 1933) is an American film director in the exploitation film genre. Several of Hill's later films have been characterized as feminist works. Early life Hill was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Mildred (n� ...

also had to leave the game, at half-time, due to injury. England continued the second half with only nine players and lost, 2–0. In only his third game for his country, on 28 March 1928, an England team that was packed with many big stars, including

Dixie Dean William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in ...

Roy Goodall Frederick Roy Goodall (31 December 1902 – 19 January 1982) was a professional footballer, who played for Huddersfield Town for 16 years and played 25 games for England, 12 as captain. Goodall would have captained England in the first ever Wor ...

and

Joe Bradford Joseph Bradford (22 January 1901 – 6 September 1980) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Born in Peggs Green, near Coalville, Leicestershire, Bradford made nearly 450 appearances for Birmingham in all comp ...

was beaten at home 5–1 by Scotland. He earned his final cap as an England player on 15 May 1929 when England lost to Spain, who narrowly edged a 4–3 victory.

Post football

On his retirement from playing he went into the motor trade in London and after

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 opposin ...

returned to Upton Park to act as a press room steward on match days. He suffered with poor health in later life and following a road accident, and with failing eyesight, he moved to

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, where he died in 1967.

Tribute

''"Ted Hufton, the goalkeeper, was another of my heroes, and he was always in the Press Room after a match at Upton Park, dispensing yarns and memories with the utmost amiability." - Ted Fenton, West Ham United Manager.''

References

External links

Ted Hufton
www.Englandstats.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hufton, Ted 1892 births 1967 deaths People from Southwell, Nottinghamshire Footballers from Nottinghamshire English footballers English Football League players England international footballers Association football goalkeepers Forgemasters Sports & Social F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Coldstream Guards soldiers British Army personnel of World War I West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup Final players