By Neil Fissler
GEOFF HUTT not only lived out his boyhood dream of playing for Huddersfield Town but he also helped them win promotion to the First Division.
Hutt, who followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in supporting the club and stood on the Leeds Road terraces, was an ever present in their Second Division championship win.
In his first season as a professional, he played all 42 games as Huddersfield returned to the top flight after a 14-year absence, finishing seven points ahead of runners-up Blackpool.
“The medal for winning the Second Division means more to me than any amount of money and I'll pass it down to my grandson when they carry me out in a box,” he said.
“It was fantastic. My father and his father before him supported Huddersfield Town, so we were all great fans.
“I can remember my father taking me to a game when Huddersfield switched on their floodlights after they had sold Denis Law to Manchester City to pay for them.
“It was a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup in, I think, 1961 and we won 2-1. I'll always remember the game.
“And to get the opportunity to sign for Huddersfield when I came straight from school and then to achieve what we achieved was an unbelievable dream come true.
“When we won the championship, I think we had been in the Second Division the longest of any of the teams in the division at the time.
“It was a terrific feeling to get the point we needed at Middlesbrough, when Stephen Smith, another local lad, got the goal. We went on to win it by seven points.”
Huddersfield didn't prove to be one-season wonders, either.
They finished a very respectable 15th but failed to build on their success.
Hutt believes they relied too much on Frank Worthington and, despite all the efforts of manager Ian Greaves, they found it hard to attract players to strengthen the side.
At the end of their second season, they finished bottom of the table on goal difference and were relegated alongside Nottingham Forest, four points behind Crystal Palace.
“Playing in the First Division was unbelievable for a local lad,” he recalled. “In our first season in the division, we did rather well at home and that's what helped us stave off relegation.
“We didn't do too badly away from home, considering we were short of strikers who could score goals,. We didn't concede many but we scored hardly any.
“I think, in the second season, that is what cost us relegation. We probably relied too much on Frank Worthington.
“I know that Ian Greaves tried to sign players, but nobody wanted to come up to Huddersfield, for some unknown reason. But it was good to put Huddersfield back on the map.”
- David Shaw: Striker whose grandfather, David Steele, managed Huddersfield. He went into the pub trade and then worked for engineering firm Hopkinsons Valves. He retired after spending eight years driving.
- Ray Mielczarek: A Welsh international centre-half who worked as an ambulance driver, driving instructor, security officer, lorry driver and a cake salesman, He died in October 2013, aged 67.
- Frank Worthington: England international forward, who, after a spell as player-manager of Tranmere Rovers, became a successful after-dinner speaker.
- Ray Ellam: Centre-half who ran a pub before selling up and investing in his daughter's fitness centre. He then opened his own gym in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
- David Lawson: Goalkeeper for whom Everton paid a British record £80,000. He now lives in the Midlands where he worked as a postman until retirement.
- Terry Poole: Goalkeeper who became manager of a cash-and-carry video wholesaler near his native Chesterfield and then worked as a taxi driver in the town.
- Trevor Cherry: England defender who later managed Bradford City, before running his own hospitality company. He also had interests in waste paper and a five-a-side football centre.
- Paul Aimson: Forward who settled in Dorset working as a sales rep and later as a physical recreation officer for Dorset Probation Service. He died of a heart attack in January 2008, aged 64.
- Brian Greenhalgh: Striker who became a partner in an optics company. He was Everton's chief scout until July 1999 and has since scouted for Watford, Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
- Colin Dobson: Midfielder who managed a number of sides in the Middle East and has coached and scouted for clubs in both the Football League and Premier League.
- Steve Smith: Midfielder who served Huddersfield as manager. He also worked as reserve and youth team coach, chief scout, head of academy recruitment and also worked for the Premier League.
- Jimmy Lawson: Winger who was a personal tailor and then became manager of Halifax, before becoming a salesman for forklift truck firm Still.
- Jimmy McGill: Midfielder who became a welder at a local ICI plant until his retirement. He died in March 2015, aged 68.
- Jimmy Nicholson: Northern Ireland international midfielder who had various jobs before becoming manager of Sale Sports Centre in Manchester.
- Geoff Hutt: Left-back, based in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. He went to work in the sales department of Tibbett & Britten before becoming a delivery driver for greetings card firm Clintons until retiring.
- Bobby Hoy: Midfielder who became a folk singer working the Yorkshire club circuit and then delivered car parts for Dews Vauxhall in Lindley, Huddersfield.
- Dennis Clarke: Defender and the first-ever substitute in an FA Cup Final. He had various business interests including a property development company until retiring to Spain.
NOT PICTURED
Dick Krzywicki: Wales winger, who worked in engineering before joining Huddersfield Community Scheme, then became a regional director for Football in the Community.
Les Chapman: Midfielder, who managed Stockport and Preston, became a coach at Manchester City and youth team coach at Huddersfield before returning to City as kit man.
