| Chris Hemming | |
| Fullname: | Christopher Andrew John Hemming |
| Birth Date: | 13 April 1966 |
| Birth Place: | Newcastle-under-Lyme, England |
| Position: | Defender |
| Youthyears1: | 1981–1983 |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in[1] |
| Years1: | 1983–1989 |
| Clubs1: | Stoke City |
| Caps1: | 93 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 1988 |
| Clubs2: | → Wigan Athletic (loan) |
| Caps2: | 4 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 1989–1991 |
| Caps3: | 41 |
| Goals3: | 3 |
| Years4: | 1991–1992 |
| Clubs4: | Merthyr Tydfil |
| Caps4: | 21 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 1992 |
| Years6: | 1992–1994 |
| Caps6: | 76 |
| Goals6: | 2 |
| Totalcaps: | 235 |
| Totalgoals: | 7 |
Christopher Andrew John Hemming (born 13 April 1966) is a former footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke City and Wigan Athletic.[2] [3] He is known as the first professional footballer to play whilst having a pacemaker.[2]
Hemming was a product of Stoke's youth system and he made his professional debut in the 1983–84 season which came in a 1–0 defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur on 3 March 1984.[2] He played in the awful 1984–85 season which saw Stoke relegated to the Second Division with a record low points tally.[2] Hemming became a useful member of Mick Mills' squad but he made the national sporting headlines when he was fitted with a pacemaker and still managed to continue playing professional football.[2] He played in 106 games for Stoke before joining Wigan Athletic on loan then permanently to Hereford United in 1989.[2] He later went on to play for non-league Merthyr Tydfil,[4] Macclesfield Town and Stafford Rangers.[2]
Source:
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Stoke City | 1983–84 | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | First Division | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 1985–86 | Second Division | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 1986–87 | Second Division | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88 | Second Division | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | ||
| 1988–89 | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 93 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 105 | 2 | |||
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 1988–89 | Third Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1989–90 | Fourth Division | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 4 | ||
| 1990–91 | Fourth Division | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| Total | 41 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 55 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 138 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 166 | 7 | |||