Gerry Hitchens

Gerry Hitchens

Personal information
Full name	Gerald Archibald Hitchens
Date of birth	8 October 1934(1934-10-08)
Place of birth	Cannock, Staffordshire, England
Date of death	13 April 1983(1983-04-13) (aged 48)
Place of death	Hope, Clwyd, Wales
Playing position	Centre forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1952–1953	Highley Miners Welfare
1953–1955	Kidderminster Harriers
1955–1957	Cardiff City	95	(40)
1957–1961	Aston Villa	132	(78)
1961–1962	Internazionale	39	(17)
1962–1965	Torino	89	(28)
1965–1967	Atalanta	58	(10)
1967	→ Chicago Mustangs (loan)	?	(1)
1967–1969	Cagliari	19	(4)
1969–1971	Worcester City	51	(25)
1971	Merthyr Tydfil	6	(0)
National team
1961–1962	England	7	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Gerald Archibald "Gerry" Hitchens (8 October 1934 – 13 April 1983) was an English footballer, who played as a centre forward.

Hitchens was born in the village of Rawnsley, Staffordshire, near Cannock, and began his career with non-league Kidderminster Harriers in 1953. He moved to Cardiff City in 1954 for £1,500, and moved on to Aston Villa in 1957 for £22,500, where he spent four seasons, scoring 96 goals in 160 appearances. He made his debut for England in 1961, scoring after just 90 seconds in an 8-0 drubbing of Mexico, and two weeks later scored twice more in Rome as England beat Italy 3–2. This brought him to the attention of Internazionale, who signed him in the summer of 1961 for £85,000 as part of a spate of British exports (Jimmy Greaves, Denis Law and Joe Baker also moved to Italy that season).

He played for England in the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and won a total of seven caps, scoring five goals. However, when Alf Ramsey took over as England manager, Hitchens' international spell came to a halt—Ramsey preferring to pick home-based players. Nevertheless, Hitchens stayed in Italy for nine years (a record which still stands in the Guinness Book of records), also playing for Torino, Atalanta and Cagliari. After retiring, he played for Worcester City and Merthyr Tydfil before moving to Wales, where he died playing in a charity football match in 1983, at the age of 48.

Playing career

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
1954–55	Cardiff City	First Division	m	n	m	n	-	-	m	n
1955–56			m	n	m	n	-	-	m	n
1956–57			m	n	m	n	-	-	m	n
1957–58		Second Division	m	n	m	n	-	-	m	n
Career total			m	n	m	n	-	-	m	n
1957–58	Aston Villa	First Division	20	10	2	1	-	-	22	11
1958–59			35	16	6	2	-	-	41	18
1959–60		Second Division	36	23	5	2	-	-	41	25
1960–61		First Division	41	29	5	2	10	11	56	42
Career total			122	78	18	7	10	11	160	96
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1961–62	Inter Milan	Serie A	34	16	0	0	3	2	37	18
1962–63			5	1	1	1	-	-	6	2
Career total			39	17	1	1	3	2	43	20
1962–63	Torino	Serie A	24	11	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
1963–64			33	9	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
1964–65			32	8	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Career total			89	28	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
1965–66	Atalanta	Serie A	33	6	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
1966–67			25	4	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Career total			58	10	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
1967–68	Cagliari	Serie A	17	4	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
1968–69			2	0	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX
Career total			19	4	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX

Honours

Cardiff City

• Welsh Cup
  • Winners: 1956

Aston Villa

• Second Division
  • Winners: 1960

• FA Cup
  • Semi Finalists: 1959, 1960

Inter Milan

• Serie A
  • Winners: 1963
  • Runners-up: 1962

Torino

• European Cup Winners' Cup
  • Semi Finalists: 1965

• Coppa Italia
  • Runners-up: 1963, 1964
  • Semi Finalists: 1965

Cagliari

• Serie A
  • Runners-up: 1969

References

• Nobok
• BBC North East Wales — Hall of Fame
• Cris Freddi, The England Football Fact Book, Guinness, 1991. ISBN 0-85112-991-9.