by Neil Fissler
KEITH HANVEY thought he had started working in a holiday camp, rather than a football club, when he first turned up at Leeds Road.
The glory years of the 1920s, when the club won three successive League Championship titles, were firmly forgotten with the club playing in the bottom division.
They were drifting aimlessly around the bottom reaches of the table until Mick Buxton came in and set about starting a rebuilding programme.
Buxton went shopping for bargain basement signings, players who, like the club they were joining, had not achieved very much in years.
Hanvey points out that many of the players were completely unknown, but they all had something to prove. Not only to those who doubted them, but also to themselves.
“It was the re-birth of Huddersfield Town after some very lean years, but it was still one of the biggest clubs playing in the lower levels. We all knew it had a bit of potential,” said Hanvey.
“I joined them the season before and it was quite a shock to me because I thought it was like a holiday camp. The club really was in the doldrums.
“I left a club on the up in Grimsby for a club on the way down, just because I wanted to be nearer to Manchester. Mick came in within a month of me going there.
“And he brought together a collection of pretty average professionals. No-one had ever heard of most of us. We hadn’t been in really successful teams,” he said.
Buxton got the results needed, especially when, around Christmas 1979, he added striker Steve Kindon, who had managed just four goals for Burnley all season.
Kindon went on a remarkable scoring run and notched 16 goals, to help Huddersfield claim the Fourth Division title when Ian Robins scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Hartlepool.
Buxton turned them into a side that took the title by two points from second-placed Walsall and five ahead of third-placed Newport County.
“To be fair, he moulded us into a team and really managed to maximise our talent within that team structure,” said Hanvey.
“I was a pro for 15 or 16 years and it is true that success does create a team spirit, but we had an unbelievable spirit.
“The vast majority of us went out for drinks after the match. Also, the vast majority of our team came from Lancashire and what helped us was we came in every day in one or two cars. That certainly helped bond us.”
- Jimmy Robson: A League Championship winner with Burnley, now retired after running the Turf Moor Centre of Excellence.
- Keith Hanvey: A defender who worked in the commercial departments of Bradford City and Leeds. Now runs his own hospitality company, Hanvey Corporate.
- Chris Topping: A central defender who became the manager of a mushroom farm in Selby after working as a postman and looking after the family smallholding.
- Peter Fletcher: A former striker who returned to live in his native Manchester, where he earned a living working as a security guard.
- Dave Sutton: A defender who managed Rochdale and Chorley but quit to run a market garden business that he set up with his father.
- Richard Taylor: A goalkeeper who made more than 100 appearances. He’s now living and working in Shepley, Huddersfield.
- Alan Starling: The goalkeeper is still based in Huddersfield and, after working as a salesman, became a national account manager for a pharmaceutical company.
- Malcolm Brown: A right-back who became a driving instructor, running his own business, MBM, in Walkden, Greater Manchester.
- Mark Lillis: A striker who went into management with Halifax and is now running the Huddersfield Academy. His son, Josh, is playing for Rochdale.
- Brett Mellor: A defender who joined the West Yorkshire police and then became a publican in the Huddersfield area.
- Paul Gartland: A defender who lives in Bradford and was the warden of a probation hostel. He’s now the services director of Horton Housing Association.
- John Haselden: Worked as a physio for various clubs and is now living in Nottingham, where he had his own private practice.
- Peter Hart: A defender who went to theological college in Nottingham to become an ordained Church of England minister. Now the Rev Hart, of St Luke’s Church, Cannock.
- Jim Branagan: Former full-back who was in the insurance industry for 23 years before going to work for Tesco in Pendleton, Manchester.
- Ian Holmes: A midfielder who went into the financial services industry and runs his own business, KIS Financial Solutions, in Huddersfield.
- Phil Sandercock: A midfielder who changed his name to Phil Grant. Worked for Tesco from near his base in MIlton Keynes.
- Micky Laverick: The midfielder is now based in Nottinghamshire and was a long-serving prison officer at HMP Ranby in Ranby, Nottinghamshire.
- Ian Robins: A striker who was leading scorer. Worked for a petroleum company before becoming a licensee in Wigan, latterly running Bentley’s pub.
- Fred Robinson: A left-back who is still based in Huddersfield and has spent a number years working for an engineering company.
- Paul Gibson: A youngster who was born locally is also working for a Huddersfield engineers.
- Paul Bielby: The former midfielder became a successful businessman with interests in property and food before becoming a football agent and motivational speaker.
- Tommy Smith: A striker who played only one game and is now back living and working in his native Black Country.
- David Cowling: A midfielder who has held various coaching, scouting and development posts. He currently coaches for the Esprit Football Academy and scouts for Fulham.
- Mick Buxton: Twice managed Huddersfield and Scunthorpe. He was also in charge at Sunderland and then went to work for the Premier League, monitoring academies.
- Daryl Brook: A striker who became a coach at Emley and runs his own building company at Shepley, Huddersfield.
- Terry Armstrong: A midfielder who went into the prison service and worked at Wakefield Prison until leaving the service.
Not Pictured
Brian Stanton: A midfielder who became a carpenter but is now a housing officer for Bolton Council.
Bernard Purdie: A striker who returned to his native Wrexham in North Wales, where he worked as a postman.
Andy Rankin: A goalkeeper who is now retired. Worked for printers Halcion, firstly as a packer and then as a forklift driver in the warehouse.
Steve Kindon: A striker who was Huddersfield’s promotions manager, before becoming sales manager at Rolyat, a firm of basketware importers, until retiring.
*This article originally featured in The FLP on April 17 2016.
