| Henry Horton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country: | England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fullname: | Henry Horton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 18 April 1923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Colwall, Herefordshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Death Place: | Birmingham, Warwickshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting: | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling: | Slow left-arm orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club1: | Worcestershire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club2: | Hampshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpire: | true | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fcumpired: | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpfcdebutyr: | 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpfclastyr: | 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listaumpired: | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umplistadebutyr: | 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umplistalastyr: | 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Columns: | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Column1: | First-class | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matches1: | 417 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs1: | 21,669 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bat Avg1: | 32.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 100S/50S1: | 32/122 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top Score1: | 160 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deliveries1: | 348 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wickets1: | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Avg1: | 64.66 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fivefor1: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tenfor1: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Bowling1: | 2/0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 264/– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Column2: | List A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matches2: | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs2: | 284 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bat Avg2: | 21.84 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 100S/50S2: | 0/2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top Score2: | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deliveries2: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wickets2: | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Avg2: | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fivefor2: | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tenfor2: | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Bowling2: | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Catches/Stumpings2: | 3/– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: | 8 November 2022
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Henry Horton (18 April 1923 – 2 November 1998) was an English sportsman who played cricket for Hampshire in the 1950s and 1960s, having previously played a handful of times for Worcestershire in the 1940s. He also played football for Blackburn, Southampton, Bradford Park Avenue and Hereford.[1]
Horton was born in April 1923 in Colwall, Herefordshire.[2] As a sportsman, he initially excelled as a footballer who played at wing-half.[3] After playing for Worcester City, Horton joined First Division Blackburn Rovers in 1946.[3] Blackburn were relegated to the Second Division during the 1947–48 season, where they were to remain for rest of Horton's time with the club. Writing in The Independent, Derek Hodgson described him as an "obdurate, intransigent" defender.[3] Horton left Blackburn at the end of the 1950–51 season, having made 92 appearances and scored five goals for the club.[3]
He joined fellow Second Division side Southampton ahead of the 1951–52 season, for their then club record fee of £10,000.[2] He played for Southampton mostly as a defender, but on occasion he played as a forward. His most notable goal came as a defender against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road in the Fifth Round of the 1952–53 FA Cup, when Southampton were trailing 1–0. Having won a free kick on the edge of the Blackpool box in the 86th minute, Horton went forward and headed in Peter Sillett's free kick.[4] He played for Southampton until the 1953–54 season, having made 75 league appearances and scoring 11 goals.[3]
At the end of that season, he attracted attention from Joe Mallett at Leyton Orient and Norman Kirkman at Bradford Park Avenue, both former Southampton players in managerial positions.[4] He chose to joined Bradford Park Avenue, which Horton later lamented was a "silly" preference.[4] He played just one season for Bradford Park Avenue, making 27 appearances.[3] For the 1955–56 season, he played for Hereford United in the Southern Football League.[4]
Horton began playing at first-class level as an amateur middle order batsman and occasional slow left-arm orthodox bowler for Worcestershire, making his first-class debut against the Royal Air Force at Worcester in 1946. In the that season, he made his County Championship debut against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.[5] In this match, his teammate Dick Howorth implored Warwickshire bowler Jack Marshall to allow him an easy delivery to score his first run from. Marshall bowled a slow half-volley,[2] which Horton missed to be bowled for a duck.[6] He played more extensively in 1947, making seven first-class appearances; thereafter, he played just one match apiece in 1948 and 1949. He did not have success during his four seasons on the Worcestershire staff, scoring 129 runs from eleven first-class matches at an average of 8.06.[7] After his first foray into first-class cricket, Horton had seemingly given up playing the game.[2]
Horton came late to full-time cricket, having spent most of his twenties concentrating on his football career. While playing a cricket match for Southampton F.C. against Portsmouth F.C. at the County Ground, he scored a century and came to the attention of Hampshire coach and ex-Southampton player Arthur Holt.[4] Under Holt's encouragement,[8] he was persuaded to appear for Hampshire Club and Ground in 1952, making two centuries.[2] Following his unsuccessful spell with Worcestershire, Horton initially wanted to play cricket just for "fun", but asked to represent Hampshire in a minor match against the British Army team and made 99 runs.[2] His senior first eleven debut followed against Leicestershire at Portsmouth in the 1953 County Championship.[5]
He joined Hampshire in 1953, but did not achieve a regular place in the side until 1955, the season when the West Indian Test batsman Roy Marshall qualified for the county. For the next dozen years, Horton batted mostly at No 3, usually following the opening partnership of Marshall and the all-rounder Jimmy Gray, and the three players were responsible for a high proportion of the runs scored by a side that was perennially weak in batting but strong in bowling.
Horton was essentially a defensive player, contrasting with the flamboyance of Marshall. He was a right-handed batsman with a curious and ungainly crouching stance, once described as if he was sitting on a shooting stick. But he made a lot of runs at a good average, and passed 1,000 runs in 12 consecutive seasons, going on to 2,000 in three of them. His total of 2,428 runs in 1959 is the sixth highest aggregate in Hampshire history, beaten only by Phil Mead (four times) and once by Marshall. He was a big contributor to Hampshire's two most successful County Championship seasons to that time: 1958, when the county came second to Surrey, and 1961, when it won the Championship for the first time.
Horton remained fit into his mid-forties, and completed 1,000 for the last time in 1966. The following year, with younger players coming into the side, he played a few games and then retired from playing. He became a first-class umpire for a few seasons, then retired back to Herefordshire to live with his sisters in their home town of Colwall.[9]
He was the younger brother of Joseph Horton, who played more than 60 times for Worcestershire in the 1930s and who died just four days after him.