Philip Damien Hoadley (6 January 1952 – 5 May 2024) was an English footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League playing as a central defender for Crystal Palace, Orient and Norwich City.[3]

Phil Hoadley
Personal information
Full name Philip Damien Hoadley
Date of birth (1952-01-06)6 January 1952
Place of birth Battersea, London, England
Date of death 5 May 2024(2024-05-05) (aged 72)
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
1967–1968 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1972 Crystal Palace 73[2] (1)
1972–1978 Orient 255 (9)
1978–1982 Norwich City 77 (0)
Total 406 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Hoadley was born in Battersea, London. He began his career as an apprentice with Crystal Palace.[3] He made his first-team debut on 27 April 1968, as a substitute in the Second Division match away to Bolton Wanderers. At 16 years 112 days, he became Palace's then youngest player.[4] After appearing in 88 matches in all competitions for Crystal Palace,[5] he joined Orient, in September 1971,[2] whom he captained to the semi-finals of the 1977–78 FA Cup.[6] Having played nearly 300 games for Orient,[7] his transfer to Norwich City in 1978 was the first move under freedom of contract legislation with a tribunal setting his value at £110,000.[8][9] After three years with Norwich he moved to play in Hong Kong football in February 1982,[10] but was forced to retire from professional football following a knee injury.[8] He returned to England and became a publican.[10]

Later life and death

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Following his professional football career Hoadley remained involved with amateur football in the Norfolk area and worked in a variety of jobs before returning to Norwich City in the 1990s as football in the community officer.[8] As of 2006, he was landlord of a community-run public house in his local village.[11]

Hoadley died on 5 May 2024, at the age of 72.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack, eds. (1976). Rothmans Football Yearbook. 1976–77. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-362-00259-1.
  2. ^ a b Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. p. 328. ISBN 0907969542.
  3. ^ a b "Phil Hoadley". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Youngest Ever Players Revealed". Crystal Palace F.C. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Appearances". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  6. ^ Murphy, Alex (25 January 2002). "Orient golden days when Kitch was in". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  7. ^ "O's Cup Legends Return To E10". Leyton Orient F.C. 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  8. ^ a b c "Phil Hoadley". Flown From The Nest. Steve Whitlam. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  9. ^ "Tribunal fixes Hoadley's price at £110,000". The Times. 25 August 1978. p. 9. An independent transfer tribunal has decided that Norwich City must pay Orient £110,000 for Hoadley, a defender whom Orient had valued at £150,000. He refused to sign a contract at the start of the new season, and, under the new regulations, was able to negotiate his own transfer.
  10. ^ a b Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. p. 75. ISBN 0907969542.
  11. ^ Brealey, Sarah (20 September 2006). "Village pub that's run by villagers". EDP24. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Phil Hoadley : 1952–2024". Leyton Orient. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
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