OBITUARY – JOHNNIE HILLS

We were saddened to hear of the passing of John ‘Johnnie’ Hills, a defender who spent 11 years at the Club as an amateur and professional between 1950-61. He passed away at home in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, 26 November, aged 87.

A classy full-back, Johnnie signed amateur forms in March, 1950, joining our groundstaff while playing for Gravesend & Northfleet. He signed professional forms on 17 August, 1953.

A regular in our reserve, ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams, first-team opportunities over the next 11 years would be restricted by two of the Club’s greats – initially, Sir Alf Ramsey, and later, Peter Baker, right-back of our ‘Double’ team and throughout the ‘glory, glory’ years of the early 1960s.

However, when he did get his chance, Johnnie grasped it with both hands. He made his debut in our First Division match at Blackpool on 14 December, 1957, and stayed in the team for the rest of the season, playing 21 league matches (plus two in the FA Cup) as we finished third behind Wolves and Preston. His form earned a call into the FA squad for a post-season tour of Ghana and Nigeria in May and June, 1958.