AHEAD of England’s World Cup semi final, we look back at Gerry Hitchens, the first Kidderminster Harriers player to represent the Three Lions.
A former pit boy from Highley, forward Hitchens joined Harriers in September 1953.
At the Harriers Junior Cup Final , which was hosted at Aggborough that summer, a then 17-year-old Hitchens gave a starring performance for Highley Minors Welfare, which saw Kidderminster snap him up.
He spent two seasons at the Harriers before his tireless performances and considerable goal-scoring prowess saw him catch the eye of Cardiff City.
The Bluebirds paid Harriers £1,500 for his signature in 1955 – then a club record fee.
Hitchens would prove to be a formidable goalscorer for Cardiff over the two years that followed – so much so that Aston Villa shelled out £22,500 to take him to Villa Park.
Hitchens would then demolish Villa goal-scoring records, and helped them to lift the 1961 League Cup.
In 1961, he received his first call-up to the England side and scored just 90 seconds into his debut against Mexico.
He followed that up with two more goals just weeks later as the Three Lions beat Italy in Rome.
His exploits against the Italians saw him join giants Inter Milan, and after another prolific season with them, he was called up to play for England in the 1962 World Cup in Chile.
That summer saw Hitchens feature twice for England as they crashed out of the tournament following defeat to Brazil in the quarter-finals, a match where he scored England’s only goal.
He played twice in the World Cup, starting and scoring in England’s 3-1 defeat to eventual winners Brazil.
Hitchens England career never really kicked on from there, though, presumably due to new England manager Sir Alf Ramsey’s preference to prioritise players who were playing in the English First Division rather than European leagues.
Hitchens would feature for various other clubs in Italy before returning to his home county and ending his career with Worcester City.
Tragically, he died aged just 48 in 1983 after collapsing during a charity football match in Wales.
- England play Argentina in the World Cup Semi Final at 8pm tonight (Wednesday, July 15).
