Bob Hatton

Infobox Football biography
playername = Bob Hatton


fullname = Robert James Hatton
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1947|4|10|df=y
cityofbirth = Hull
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
position = Centre forward (retired)
youthyears = 1962–1963
1963–1964
youthclubs = Wath Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers
years = 1964–1967
1967–1968
1968–1969
1969–1971
1971–1976
1976–1978
1978–1980
1980–1982
1982–1983
clubs = Wolverhampton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers
Northampton Town
Carlisle United
Birmingham City
Blackpool
Luton Town
Sheffield United
Cardiff City
caps(goals) = 010 0(7)
024 0(2)
033 0(7)
093 (37)
175 (58)
075 (32)
082 (29)
095 (34)
030 0(9)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =

Robert James "Bob" Hatton (born 10 April, 1947 in Hull) is an English former association footballer who played as a centre forward. He played more than 600 matches in the Football League for a variety of clubs and scored at a rate better than one goal in every three matches.

Wolverhampton Wanderers recognised his potential and invited him across to the Midlands for a trial period. His stay at Molineux was short as Bolton Wanderers stepped in with a definite contract offer, and Hatton realised that the chance of security was not one to be missed. From Bolton Wanderers he moved to Northampton Town, but never really settled in a struggling team. The inevitable drop to Division Four in the 1968/69 season could not be avoided and many of the squad were tempted by better offers, Hatton being one of them.

Carlisle United at the time were a steady, mid-table outfit and manager Bob Stokoe was always on the look-out for a sharp deal that could help to take the club onwards and upwards. He offered Northampton Town a reported £8,000 for Hatton early in July (though this figure may well have been higher) and was amazed when they accepted. Hatton was well known for his hard work and finishing prowess in front of goal and could easily have commanded a higher fee. Stokoe wasn't about to argue though, and signed Hatton on a two year deal.

Hatton began his Carlisle United career playing alongside McIlmoyle but was soon thrown in at the deep end when the popular Scot moved on to bigger and better things with Middlesbrough. To be fair, Hatton was actually already ahead of Hughie in the scoring charts when the tall striker left and it robbed the fans of what would probably have been a fascinating tussle to claim top goalscorer at the end of the season. Bob wore the number 9 shirt for most of his first season with us and took only a short while to bed in. His first two goals came against Hull City in a 2-1 win on 6 September 1969 and he went on to make 50 appearances, scoring 14 goals along the way. He played a huge part in United's successful League Cup run that was eventually ended in the second leg of the semi-final at "The Hawthorns" and he netted consistently throughout the season to go on to finish as the club's top scorer.

1970/71 was a very good year for Bob Hatton. It was in this season that his name began to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the Carlisle scoring greats of days gone by. 46 appearances brought 24 goals, which included some fine performances. Two of his most memorable games, from a season littered with excellent performances, both occurred at Brunton Park. Oxford United were the visitors for the 3rd round of the Football League Cup in October 1970 and they found Hatton in blistering form. Two fine strikes before half time were eclipsed by a bullet header just after the break, and man of the match Bob Hatton walked away with the match ball to commemorate a quality hat-trick in a convincing 3-1 win. Even better was to come in December when Portsmouth came North, for a game that is still talked about now. It was 4 - 0 by half time and 6 - 0 at full time, and Hatton had helped himself to four of the goals. This game ensured that he had 'arrived' as far as Carlisle fans were concerned, and he went on to build up an excellent relationship with the Brunton Park faithful.

Bob signed a new contract in the summer of 1971 much to the delight of everyone concerned with the club. What no-one had realised though was that it had a release clause. After just 15 games of the 1971/72 season the shock news filtered out that Bob Hatton was moving to Birmingham City for a club record fee of £80,000. He scored 9 more goals for Carlisle before his move and, fittingly, notched a goal in the 2 - 0 away win in his last ever game for the club at Luton Town on 23 October 1971.

He went on to shine brightly for Birmingham City, sharing in and contributing to their success, for nearly five full years, before moving to Blackpool in 1976 for £60,000. This was followed by a move to Luton Town in the summer of 1978, where he spent two years, then a further two years with Sheffield United. He finished his career off with a one year spell at Cardiff City, signed by then manager Len Ashurst, before he finally retired from the playing side of life in 1983, aged 36. He has worked closely with the Professional Footballers Association ever since, and has settled in the Midlands.

References

* [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/bobhatton.htm Hatton's profile at Neil Brown's statistics site]