One of the few players that can be truly called a legend, and a proper nut off the field too!!
remember cheering the GB team & SN getting off the tour bus in OZ prior to a test match having just had 18 stitches in his head that morning after a shall we say a late night hotel issue with Les Dyl (his roommate) then turning out a world class display.

Aparently he ate his morning breakfast with the pillow stuck to his head where the blood had dried it too him!!

I bet there are hundreds of stories similar to that surrounding SN, difference is he still produced it on the pitch too!!

wonder what he is doing now, looked a tad overweight last time i saw him at a function

Norton, Hanley & lewis in that order !! legends

We actually lost that game Frighty......I cant remember the score though. I remember the FC lads lining up and applauding the robins onto the pitch. I had just bought a nice slr camera and was trying it out that day...Still got the photos too.....a game remembered fror Casey having a tantrum


Some of the players I do remember from that encounter are Schoey, Divorty, Phil Edmonds and i'm pretty sure Knocker is on my pictures too!!!

Pretty sure we won it. Think Ah Kuoi may have got a brace but may be getting confused as I was lashed.

We did win. IIRC they also interviewed Schofield after the game, he was commenting on his tour to Australia.

We did win, I was there. Had it on video, unfortunately Betamax so no copy now

What can any of us say about Knocker



A true legend and the best No13 I have seen in my life bar none, no disrespect to Jonny. I only saw Johny towards the end of his career and he had the "Gentleman" tag, not so Knocker when he hit you you stayed down if you had any sense. He scored the best try I have ever seen in my life at Wakey IIRC, weaved his way through about 8 or 9 of there players. Mesmerised them and everyone that night I just wish some one had it on tape, but this when video machine where expensive and not very available .

Hard as bloody nail he is, but he could be vunerable I saw it once away at Leeds.

One of there pack decided to whisper in Knockers ear about a member of his family and after about 20 minutes Knocker flipped. I remember Charlie Stone and I think Charlie Birdsall sitting on him whilst he was subbbed off, the rest of the players dealt with the offending player. He never liked Leeds too much after that and he always seemed to have a good game agianst them, mind you they where pants back then, even after spending a fortune buying players.

Clubbing in Tiffs was an experience with him, he had an arrangement with the bouncers............... he slipped in and out at will



Did he not coach Carlisle for a while after he left Hull ?

[size=200IN THE BEGINING THERE WAS KNOCKER [/size

I thought it was Barrow?

We won that one 38-16. Remember John Millington kicking James Leuluai (IIRC) in the head while he was on the floor (how tough) and the fracas that followed resulted in Casey being sent off and pushing the touch judge over on the way to the dressing room. I'll have to dig it out and watch it again.

Back to Knocker, I tend to repeat myself when talking about certain members of the team from the late 70s/early 80s but I feel honoured to have seen him play for us. Ahead of his time.

The greatest!!! heard from ex hull player that knocker was still in thailand, think he's got a bar out there, think a chip shop was mentioned as well, knockers pattya's!!

I have never heard from a single person who saw Knocker player that he was anything other than a great player. He is without doubt the finest player I have ever seen wear the Black and White shirt. You would gladly pay any admission price just to see him perform. Sheer class.

Was invited to a sponsors dinner at Widnes at end of last season and the guest speaker was Clarky, I asked who he thought the best LF he ever saw was and he said Norton without thinking
that says it all

does anyone know what his bar is caled in Thiland and where it is as I am off there mid season for a wedding !??

I hope your taking Mrs GU?
I'd hate to think of you fraternising with them ladyboys after a couple of sherberts!

You could have asked someone who had never seen a game and knew nothing about RL to identify the best player on the pitch and they'd have said "The one in a black and white shirt wearing number 13".

I remember the Fev incident, Knocker 'lost it' almost to the point of having to be restrained by his team mates..
IIRC he did something similar away at Barrow as well.

Great player.

Am I right in thinking he nearly left Hull around '81/'82? Put in a transfer request/put up for sale after a severe loss of form. Was only young at the time so can't fully remember.

He relinquished the captaincy, I seem to recall it being due to it affecting his form.

coming from With you will know that women are ok but you cant beat the real thing matey!!

Knocker was also a top performer in Australia too , winning a GF.

Good shout.
He's in a very select group of Brits too achieve that. only a handful.

If we hadn't signed "The king " from Castleford , Could this thread have been about Mick Crane ?. Another player i use to love watching with his off the cuff style . Not to dissimilar from Norton and a player who was always in Norton's shadow. Great seeing them both in the same team but something we'd never see in today's game .

The difference beween the two for me was that Knocker was brilliant in that you knew what he was going to do so did the opposition, but they could do nothing about it, he was amazing, whilst Craney well he was just a freak you never knew what he was going to do and that uncertainty was his strength. We had two of the best 13 in the World at that time in my opinion.