| John Hickton | |
| Birth Date: | 24 September 1944 |
| Birth Place: | Chesterfield, England |
| Position: | Striker |
| Youthclubs1: | Sheffield Wednesday |
| Years1: | 1963–1966 |
| Caps1: | 53 |
| Goals1: | 21 |
| Years2: | 1966–1978 |
| Clubs2: | Middlesbrough |
| Caps2: | 415 |
| Goals2: | 159 |
| Years3: | 1976–1977 |
| Clubs3: | → Hull City (loan) |
| Caps3: | 6 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 1978 |
| Caps4: | 3 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Clubs5: | Whitby Town |
| Totalcaps: | 477 |
| Totalgoals: | 182 |
John Hickton (born 24 September 1944) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a striker for Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and Hull City, and in the North American Soccer League for Fort Lauderdale Strikers.[1] He is noted for his prolific scoring for Middlesbrough between 1966 and 1976.
Hickton was born in Brimington, near Chesterfield in Derbyshire.[1] He started his career at Sheffield Wednesday, and made his debut in the Football League First Division on 7 March 1964 in a 2–2 draw away to Aston Villa. He went on to score 21 goals from 56 appearances,[2] which caught the eye of Middlesbrough manager Stan Anderson, who took Hickton to Teesside in 1966.
Hickton was a goalscoring legend at Middlesbrough where he scored 192 goals in 10 years at the club, making nearly 500 appearances.[3] As of 2009, he ranked fourth in the club's all-time goalscorers list and third in terms of appearances,[4] behind George Camsell, George Elliott and Brian Clough, and Tim Williamson and Gordon Jones respectively.