Overview

"This is the paperback re-print of the bestselling 2009 edition. It is a true 'rags to riches' football story of a miner's son who fulfilled his dream to play for his country. It is a book with a message - rewards are earned from hard work and determination. It includes foreword written by Jimmy Greaves and contributions from Sir Bobby Charlton. ""The Gerry Hitchens Story"" follows the life of a young miner who was plucked from the mineshaft to find himself playing football in the Italian League a few years later. It is surely something that dreams were made of, a real 'rags-to-riches' story; however, this is exactly what happened to one such talented, working-class lad from a small Shropshire mining village in the late 1950s. Gerry Hitchens was an uncomplicated footballer with obvious natural ability and virtues. It is fair to say there have been more skillful players than Hitchens, but footballers do not always require skill and flair to succeed at the very top - sometimes hard work and determination are equally important qualities, along with the will to learn and improve. Gerry had a bit extra to offer - the instinct to sniff out half chances and to score goals in abundance at any level. Containing a foreword by Jimmy Greaves and contributions from Sir Bobby Charton, Jimmy Armfield OBE, Gigi Riva, Louis Suarez and world-renowned football writer and journalist Brian Glanville, ""The Gerry Hitchens Story"" is a fitting tribute to a great footballer who was 'born to play'."

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9781859838440

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As a life-long Aston Villa fan, Simon Goodyear's late father had watched with interest from the terraces, a raw but strong and powerful footballing talent who soon become an idol to thousands of English and Italian fans during the late 1950s and early 60s. With the passing of his father in 2008, Goodyear felt inspired to fulfil his father's idea of writing a biography of Hitchens, a quiet man and great footballer. He has put together not only a biographical account of the story of Gerald Archibald Hitchens - player, husband and father - but a brief historical insight into football in Britain and Italy during the 1950s and 1960s.

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