Tony Hopper (31 May 1976 – 9 October 2018) was an
English 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 ...
who played as a midfielder.
Hopper began his career at
Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
, where he spent 10 years and made 100 appearances scoring 1 goal. He was an unused substitute for the
1997 Football League Trophy Final
The 1997 Football League Trophy Final, known as the 1997 Auto Windscreens Shield Final for sponsorship reasons, was the final match of the 1996–97 Football League Trophy. It was the 14th season of the competition for teams from the Second and ...
at
Wembley when Carlisle defeated
Colchester United on penalties following a 0–0 draw.
He also appeared in the famous
Jimmy Glass
James Robert Glass (born 1 August 1973) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He is chiefly remembered for scoring the last-minute goal which kept Carlisle United in the Football League in 1999, while on loa ...
game against
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
, in which the goalkeeper scored in the 94th minute to keep Carlisle United in 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 ...
.
Roddy Collins brought him to
Bohemians
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
on loan in August 2000. He made his debut away to
UCD soon after signing. Though much maligned during his time at the club, he scored a vital goal in December of that year in a 1–0 win over
Longford Town. He left the club a month later to return to England. His winner against Longford would prove crucial as Bohemians went on to win the league by 2 points.
He also played for
Barrow
Barrow may refer to:
Places
England
* Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area
** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency)
* Barrow, Cheshire
* Barrow, Gloucestershire
* Barro ...
and
Workington.
In November 2012 he joined
Celtic Nation
The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...
until the end of the season. In January 2017, Hopper was diagnosed with
motor neurone disease and he was the guest of honour at Carlisle United's game against Portsmouth. A fundraising page was set up in his name to help fight back against this disease.
He died on 9 October 2018 at the age of 42.
A minute's applause was held before Carlisle's match with Morecambe at Brunton Park as a tribute to him.
Honours
Carlisle United
*
Football League Trophy:
1996–97
References
External links
TONY HOPPER Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database
1976 births
2018 deaths
Footballers from Carlisle, Cumbria
English men's footballers
Carlisle United F.C. players
Bohemian F.C. players
Workington A.F.C. players
Barrow A.F.C. players
Celtic Nation F.C. players
English Football League players
League of Ireland players
Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland
Men's association football midfielders
Deaths from motor neuron disease in England
English expatriate men's footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland
{{England-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub