Played for Villa: 1927-1946
Position: Outside left
Appearances: 392
Not many individuals etch their name in Villa's history books twice; Eric Houghton did. He came to Villa as a teenager and stayed for almost 20 uninterrupted years, straddling championship charges, relegation, promotion and World War II. Despite playing wide on the left, he was a renowned goal scorer and something of a penalty-spot specialist; he took one on his debut (he missed) and another in his last game for the reserve team (he scored) and in between converted close to 20*, to add to perhaps 30 from direct free-kicks. His career tallies of 392 games and 170 goals put him among the Villa greats, and he also had the distinction of representing England alongside his pal, Pongo Waring (played seven, scored five). After World War II interrupted normal football, he continued to play in a further 178 wartime fixtures, scoring 93 times, and was still in the claret and blue when normal service resumed in 1946, his last game being a 3-0 home win over Wolves on 16 September.
Eric Houghton never turned his back on Villa Park, and in 1953 returned as manager. Again he was to make history, his crowning achievement a memorable FA Cup final victory over Manchester United in 1957. Things turned sour however, and in 1958 he was replaced part-way through a doomed season in which the club was relegated again. He moved to Nottingham Forest to team up with Billy Walker, but the pull of Aston Villa was irresistable and he ended up working for the club again, then joining the board, eventually becomeing Senior Vice-President in 1983, while Villa were reigning Champions of Europe. Few have served the club with such distinction and life-long commitment.
*The figure of 58 penalty goals is sometimes given, but this does not tally with the available records. QV Aston Villa - A Complete Record (David Goodyear and Tony Matthews), 1992. Probably it counts non-senior matches as well.
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Position: Outside left
Appearances: 392
Not many individuals etch their name in Villa's history books twice; Eric Houghton did. He came to Villa as a teenager and stayed for almost 20 uninterrupted years, straddling championship charges, relegation, promotion and World War II. Despite playing wide on the left, he was a renowned goal scorer and something of a penalty-spot specialist; he took one on his debut (he missed) and another in his last game for the reserve team (he scored) and in between converted close to 20*, to add to perhaps 30 from direct free-kicks. His career tallies of 392 games and 170 goals put him among the Villa greats, and he also had the distinction of representing England alongside his pal, Pongo Waring (played seven, scored five). After World War II interrupted normal football, he continued to play in a further 178 wartime fixtures, scoring 93 times, and was still in the claret and blue when normal service resumed in 1946, his last game being a 3-0 home win over Wolves on 16 September.
Eric Houghton never turned his back on Villa Park, and in 1953 returned as manager. Again he was to make history, his crowning achievement a memorable FA Cup final victory over Manchester United in 1957. Things turned sour however, and in 1958 he was replaced part-way through a doomed season in which the club was relegated again. He moved to Nottingham Forest to team up with Billy Walker, but the pull of Aston Villa was irresistable and he ended up working for the club again, then joining the board, eventually becomeing Senior Vice-President in 1983, while Villa were reigning Champions of Europe. Few have served the club with such distinction and life-long commitment.
*The figure of 58 penalty goals is sometimes given, but this does not tally with the available records. QV Aston Villa - A Complete Record (David Goodyear and Tony Matthews), 1992. Probably it counts non-senior matches as well.
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