 Köbi Kuhn and Hughes (right), 6 April 1977 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emlyn Walter Hughes | ||
| Date of birth | (1947-08-28)28 August 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Barrow-in-Furness, England | ||
| Date of death | 9 November 2004(2004-11-09) (aged 57) | ||
| Place of death | Sheffield, England | ||
| Position(s) | Defender,midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1967 | Blackpool | 28 | (0) |
| 1967–1979 | Liverpool | 474 | (35) |
| 1979–1981 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 58 | (2) |
| 1981–1983 | Rotherham United | 56 | (6) |
| 1983 | Hull City | 9 | (0) |
| 1983 | Mansfield Town | 0 | (0) |
| 1983–1984 | Swansea City | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 632 | (43) | |
| International career | |||
| 1967–1970 | England U-23 | 8 | (1) |
| 1969–1980[1] | England | 62 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1981–1983 | Rotherham United | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Emlyn Walter HughesOBE[2] (28 August 1947 – 9 November 2004) was an Englishfootballer. He started his career atBlackpool in 1964 before moving toLiverpool in 1967. He made 665 appearances for Liverpool and captained the side to three league titles and an FA Cup victory in the 1970s. Added to these domestic honours were two European Cups, including Liverpool's first in 1977; and two UEFA Cup titles.[3] Hughes won the Football Writers' Player of the Year in 1977. Hughes completed a full set of English football domestic honours by winning the League Cup withWolverhampton Wanderers in 1980. In addition to Wolves, he later played forRotherham United,Hull City,Mansfield Town andSwansea City.[3] Hughes earned 62 caps for theEngland national team, which he alsocaptained.[3]
After retiring from football, he worked as a media personality, mainly with theBBC.[3] He was made an OBE in 1980 for his services to sport. Hughes died of abrain tumour, aged 57, in 2004.[3]
Emlyn Hughes was born in Barrow-in-Furness,[4] the son ofFred Hughes, aGreat Britain,Wales,Barrow, andWorkington Townrugby league footballer.[5]
After being refused a trial by local sideBarrow, Hughes joined First Division sideBlackpool. He made his debut for Blackpool in 1964 playing alongsideJimmy Armfield andAlan Ball, initially as an inside forward, but later at left-half.
In February 1967, after 28 appearances for Blackpool, Hughes joined Liverpool, managed byBill Shankly, for £65,000 (equivalent to £1,490,197 in 2023). Hughes made his Liverpool debut in a 2–1 league win overStoke City atAnfield on 4 March 1967. He scored his first goal in a 6–0 defeat ofNewcastle United at Anfield on 26 August the same year.
Hughes settled into the midfield at Liverpool during a transitional period for the club, earning thenickname "Crazy Horse" after an illegalrugby tackle onNewcastle UnitedwingerAlbert Bennett. Liverpool did not win any honours in his first four seasons there, but Hughes was seen as a forerunner of the future which Shankly had in mind. His versatility was noticed too – he filled in atleft back andcentral defence, a trait which was spotted by England coachAlf Ramsey in 1969.
Ramsey gave Hughes his debut on 5 November of that year, playing him at left back in a friendly against theNetherlands at theOlympic Stadium,Amsterdam. England won 1–0. He played in the next game in the same position. Hughes scored his only international goal againstWales, the opening goal of a 3–0British Home Championship victory atNinian Park in 1972.
For Hughes, 1970 was an important year in his career. After Liverpool were beaten by Second Division sideWatford in the quarter finals of theFA Cup, Shankly made a decision to clear out many of the senior players who had in the previous eight years won two League titles, an FA Cup, and reached aEuropean Cup Winners Cup final, and recruit younger players to replace them. Hughes, not yet 23, survived the cull, together withIan Callaghan andTommy Smith, and the new recruits who would help establish Liverpool's dominance in the 1970s began to arrive.
Meanwhile, England were about to fly to Mexico and defend theWorld Cup won four years earlier. Hughes had six caps by the time Ramsey included him in his provisional squad of 27 which flew to South America foraltitude-acclimatising friendly games againstColombia andEcuador. Hughes featured in neither game but was selected in the final squad of 22. He was the youngest player selected by Ramsey, and the only Liverpool player in the squad.
Along withNobby Stiles, Hughes was one of only two outfield players who did not feature in any game. England progressed to the quarter finals, where they were defeated byWest Germany. Questions were raised about Ramsey's decisions during the game. He controversially withdrewBobby Charlton andMartin Peters in the second half but retained a clearly exhaustedTerry Cooper, who played at left back the entire 120 minutes although Hughes was available to replace him. Hughes would never play in a World Cup.
In the 1970–71 season, Liverpool reached the FA Cup final, losing 2–1 after extra-time toArsenal, who completed the then-raredouble of League title and FA Cup. Hughes was distraught as he collected his loser's medal, andBBCcommentatorKenneth Wolstenholme remarked: "Emlyn Hughes there, really absolutely sick."[citation needed] By this time, Hughes had established a reputation for charging upfield from his defensive midfield position on long runs, and for constantly beratingreferees.
In 2008,Tommy Smith claimed in his autobiography that on 8 May 1972, Hughes told him that he had been speaking to a number of Arsenal players who were "willing to throw a match for £50 a man." Liverpool subsequently failed to win the vital match atHighbury, which meant thatDerby County won the league title. Smith wrote that he was "disgusted" with what Hughes said and never spoke to him off the field again. Smith maintained that the only witness wasIan Callaghan. Smith also stated that he thought Hughes was trying to "set him up" and was not really trying to bribe Arsenal players.[6] Smith said he never told Shankly because it would have "broken his heart".[7]
Hughes appeared again for England in the quarter-final of the1972 European Championships, again under Ramsey, again facing West Germany, again with the same result; victory for West Germany.
In 1973, Hughes won his first League title with Liverpool and his first European honour with theUEFA Cup, againstBorussia Mönchengladbach. After scoring goals in a memorable win overMerseyside rivalsEverton atGoodison Park, Hughes was made Liverpool captain after Tommy Smith had a publicised falling-out with Shankly, who nonetheless kept him in the team. Smith and Hughes' off-field relationship, already strained due to the bribery incident 18 months earlier, fractured beyond all repair after this, although it never visibly affected their football.
In October 1973, Ramsey selected Hughes to be left back as England hostedPoland atWembley. Only an England victory would secure a place at the1974 World Cup, with any other result seeing Poland qualify. England dominated the match but were denied constantly by PolishgoalkeeperJan Tomaszewski. Then Poland had a breakaway after a misplaced tackle byNorman Hunter in the second half, and only Hughes and goalkeeperPeter Shilton were back to defend. The ball was passed toJan Domarski who shot from the edge of the area. Hughes lunged into a last-ditch tackle but Domarski's shot evaded his block and slipped under Shilton's body and into the net. England equalised through anAllan Clarkepenalty but the match ended 1–1 and England failed to qualify.
At the end of the 1973–74 season, Liverpool reached the FA Cup final and beat Newcastle United 3–0, with Hughes receiving the trophy fromThe Princess Anne. Later that month Hughes was also appointed England captain, replacingBobby Moore, by caretaker bossJoe Mercer. Hughes led out England for the first time on 11 May 1974 against Wales inCardiff, which England won 2–0.
Hughes captained England for all of Mercer's seven games in charge, and initially maintained the role whenDon Revie was appointed as Ramsey's permanent successor. However, after the first two qualifiers for the1976 European Championships, Revie dropped Hughes from the team, giving the captaincy to Hughes' former Blackpool teammate Alan Ball.
With Liverpool under the guidance ofBob Paisley following Shankly's retirement in 1974, Hughes focused on club football. Liverpool won no honours in Paisley's first season in charge but achieved another League championship and UEFA Cup double in 1976.
The 1976–77 season began with a shock recall to England by Don Revie, who played Hughes in the second qualifier for the1978 World Cup, under national captain and clubmateKevin Keegan. Hughes was now predominantly a central defender and played in a tactically disastrous team againstItaly in Rome, which marked the lowest point of Revie's tenure as England manager. England lost 2–0.
Revie selected Hughes for further games through the early part of 1977, during which time Liverpool sought an unprecedented treble of League Championship, FA Cup andEuropean Cup. They won the title but lost the FA Cup final to bitter rivalsManchester United. Four days later, Hughes captained Liverpool to a 3–1 win overBorussia Mönchengladbach in Rome to win the1977 European Cup Final, the first time the team won Europe's most prestigious club title. He was voted theFootball Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
Revie gave Hughes the England captaincy back for a Home International match againstScotland when Keegan was unavailable, before selecting him for the squad which would tour South America in the summer. On returning to England,Ron Greenwood took over as England manager, returning the captaincy to Hughes. England could not qualify for the World Cup after a defeat by Italy, but Hughes nonetheless celebrated a 50th cap when England beat the Italians 2–0 in the final qualifier atWembley at the end of 1977.
In 1978, Hughes was in the Liverpool team which played and lost its first everLeague Cup final, toBrian Clough'sNottingham Forest in a replay. The league title went to Forest too, but Liverpool retained the European Cup with a 1–0 win overFC Bruges at Wembley, allowing Hughes to lift the trophy for a second consecutive year. By this time Hughes's place in the side was under threat from talented young Scottish defenderAlan Hansen, who had arrived the previous season for £100,000 fromPartick Thistle.
The following season Hughes made just 16 appearances in the side, enough to earn his final title medal. Liverpool lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals, with Hughes caught out of position for the winning goal. He never played for Liverpool again. He was sold toWolverhampton Wanderers for £90,000 in August 1979. Hughes left Liverpool after 665 appearances, scoring 49 goals, for the club. His 59 appearances for England while at Liverpool made him the club's most capped player until WelshstrikerIan Rush broke the record more than ten years later.
Hughes made his Wolves debut at theBaseball Ground on 22 August 1979 in a 1–0 win overDerby County. He went on to win the League Cup in his first season with Wolves – the only trophy he did not win with Liverpool – lifting it as captain after a 1–0 win over Nottingham Forest at Wembley.
He continued to be selected for England squads even after leaving Liverpool. He featured sporadically in England's successful qualifying campaign for the1980 European Championships, he captained the team for the final time in the 1–1 1980 Home International game withNorthern Ireland draw at Wembley and won his 62nd and final cap against Scotland in the next game as a substitute.
Greenwood included him in the squad for the European Championship finals in Italy as an experienced reserve, but Hughes did not play any matches and England were eliminated in the group stages. Hughes was England's only connection with their previous foray into the finals of a tournament – the 1970 World Cup – but his non-participation in either made him England's most capped player never to feature in a major finals. He also became only the fifth player to represent England in three separatedecades, joiningJesse Pennington,Stanley Matthews,Bobby Charlton andPeter Shilton. The 57 caps Hughes earned in the 1970s made him the most capped England player of the decade.
Hughes left Wolves in 1981, joiningRotherham United as player-manager. Inheriting a side that had won the Third Division championship underIan Porterfield, including such players asJohn Breckin,Tony Towner andRonnie Moore, Rotherham made a patchy start to the season and were in the relegation zone in January. However, a run of nine consecutive wins followed and Rotherham climbed from third last to third place in the league. Promotion was missed by four points, but the finish of 7th place was the Millers' highest since the 1960s.
The following season Rotherham appeared to be holding their ground in the Second Division and were 9th at the start of 1983. However, the side plummeted down the table. On the morning of 20 March Hughes was asked to resign as manager. He refused and was sacked, to be replaced byGeorge Kerr the following day. Rotherham were relegated after winning only one more game during the season.
Hughes also played forHull City, later becoming a director. He joinedMansfield Town briefly in 1983 but did not make any appearances for the club. Later that year he also turned out forSwansea City, with whom he brought his playing career to a close.
In 1979, Hughes became a team captain on the long-running BBCquizA Question of Sport, opposite the formerrugby union footballerGareth Edwards. He left the programme in 1981, but returned in 1984, this time playing againstEngland's formerrugby union captainBill Beaumont. Hughes became much mimicked for his competitive nature and high-pitched protestations when not being able to recall an answer.[citation needed] He once identified a picture of a heavily muddiedjockey asJohn Reid, only to be told it wasPrincess Anne. Later in the same series, she appeared on the programme, joining Hughes's team.[8] Hughes caused a minor national debate when he defiedprotocol and put his arm around her.[citation needed] He called her "ma'am" throughout, except for one occasion, when he referred to her as "mate". Hughes later joined her team for the much criticisedIt's a Royal Knockout project, the brainchild of her brotherPrince Edward.
Hughes's involvement with the BBC also included work as an analyst on radio. AlongsidePeter Jones he was present at theHeysel Stadium disaster in 1985, saying "Football has died and the hooligans have won."[citation needed] He also was a member of the punditry panel for BBC Television's coverage of the1986 FIFA World Cup. Hughes hosted the short-lived BBC game showBox Clever during 1986 and 1987.[9] However, he leftA Question of Sport – and the corporation as a whole – in 1987 to go toITV and captain a team onSporting Triangles. Through this, he occasionally appeared as a pundit on ITV's football coverage. He was also immortalised in comic strip form as he was signed byMelchester Rovers in theRoy of the Rovers strip; he also wrote a column for the teenage football magazineMatch. AlongsidePeter Jones again, he was present at theHillsborough disaster in April 1989. Later, he paid visits to the parents of Andrew Devine, who was left comatose after the tragedy, in hospital and offered them support and assistance.[10]
In later years, Hughes lived a quiet retirement, occasionally working as an after-dinner or motivational speaker. In 1992, he appeared on an episode ofGamesMaster promoting the football video game which carried his name,Emlyn Hughes International Soccer. From March 2002, he became a presenter and pundit on the nightly football phone-in onReal Radio Yorkshire. From 1995 Hughes became chief patron to theSheffield-based charity FABLE (For a Better Life with Epilepsy).[citation needed]
In 2003, it was announced that he was suffering from abrain tumour, for which he underwent surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Hughes was married to Barbara and had a son and daughter, both named after him (Emlyn Jr. and Emma Lynn).[11]
His last public appearance was at the 2004 Grand National, seven months before his death; he was interviewed onGrandstand as an owner of Mantles Prince, one of the runners. He died at his home inDore,Sheffield, at the age of 57.[3] A minute's silence was held the following evening at Anfield before Liverpool's game againstMiddlesbrough in theLeague Cup. His funeral service took place atSheffield Cathedral.
Eight days after Hughes' death, England players wore black armbands in a friendly againstSpain. England forwardWayne Rooney attracted controversy after throwing his black armband to the floor, following a 42nd minute substitution forAlan Smith. Rooney later apologised.[12]
Hughes was voted at No.10 on the official Liverpool Football Club web site poll "100 Players Who Shook The Kop".[citation needed] A statue of Hughes was unveiled in his birthplace of Barrow-in-Furness in 2008. It is placed in front of a newoffice building onAbbey Road which was also named Emlyn Hughes House after him.[13] A cancer support charity in Hughes' name is run by theFreemasons ofTapton Masonic Hall in Sheffield, of which Hughes was a member.[citation needed] Hughes is also remembered at Anfield, a statue of him being carried byBob Paisley was unveiled in 2020.[14]
In the1980 New Year Honours, Hughes was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to football,[15] and later featured on the television tribute showThis Is Your Life.[16]
On 24 July 2008, it was announced that Hughes would be inducted into theNational Football Museum's Hall of Fame. The National Football Museum in Preston started its Hall of Fame in 2002 with the inductees chosen by a selection panel that includedGordon Banks,Sir Trevor Brooking,Sir Alex Ferguson,Sir Bobby Charlton,Jack Charlton,Mark Lawrenson andGary Lineker. The awards were presented at the annual ceremony, held at the Millennium Mayfair Hotel in London on 18 September.[17]
Liverpool[18]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Individual
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| Preceded by | Liverpool captain 1973–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Englandcaptain 1974–1980 | Succeeded by |
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