Vinnie Jones on Billy Whitehurst….

[Rooks]

Billy was a character, none left in football now.

 

[Alan Birchenall's hair]

Wife's family are from out that way, and they tell a tale of him never being able to beat a certain bloke in Thurnscoe, dating back to schooldays. Billy would sit in the Thurnscoe Hotel brooding, and every so often would go down to Thurnsoce Working Mens Club where this bloke drank, challenge him in the car park, scrap for a while, then have to admit defeat again.....

 

[coaxingstar71]

Too young to remember Billy playing, but sounds a bloody character. The story Paul Beesley tells on Undr the Cosh about him, Derek French & the greyhound was funny. Last I heard he was living up in South Elmsall.

I also liked the story Beesley told about playing in a reserve game for us at Leeds. Billy played for our reserves quite a bit as obviously he wasn't a first team regular. John McClelland, the ex Scotland international CB was coming back from injury and playing for Leeds reserves that day. As they walk out on the pitch, Billy shouts over to McClelland, "Hope you're wearing a mouth guard today John". Sure enough, ten minutes into the game, Billy smashes McClelland in the mouth with an elbow.

 

[LSF]

I had the (dubious) pleasure of playing against Billy a couple of times in the late seventies, this was before his Mexborough Town days too.
He was an absolute unit at 19 years old and knew how to use it too.
For a big lad he was pretty useful on the floor and it was no surprise to me he got picked up by Hull not long after.
The trainer of their team told me after I'd asked who he was, that he'd been beating up hard men in Thurnscoe and surrounding villages since he'd been 15.

 

[HarryHaslam]

Was there not some sort of story of something happening between Vinny and Billy? Maybe I’ve imagined it but I’m sure Billy while drunk clipped Vinny’s car in the car park, Vinny was telling the players he was gonna get Billy done in, next day when Vinny came in the changing room Billy pulled him, so your gonna get be done in are you big man (along those lines anyway) and Vinny shit himself, told him not to worry about the car etc etc..

 

[Sheffsteel]

Was there not some sort of story of something happening between Vinny and Billy? Maybe I’ve imagined it but I’m sure Billy while drunk clipped Vinny’s car in the car park, Vinny was telling the players he was gonna get Billy done in, next day when Vinny came in the changing room Billy pulled him, so your gonna get be done in are you big man (along those lines anyway) and Vinny shit himself, told him not to worry about the car etc etc..

They asked him about that story that he had a fight with Vinny when they were team mates at Sheff Utd. Vinny was 25 years old at the time and Billy was 31 yrs old.
He denied it, said they once had strong words (so there was some incident) but nothing too physical happened. He admitted he actually liked Vinny.
The story I heard was he pinned Vinny up against the wall and Vinny sheepishly backed down.
He's already inferred that Vinny's bark was bigger than his bite, basically Vinny was all mouth.

 

[HarryHaslam]

They asked him about that story that he had a fight with Vinny when they were team mates at Sheff Utd.
He denied it, said they had strong words during an incident but nothing too physical happened. He admitted he actually liked Vinny.
He's already inferred that Vinny's bark was bigger than his bite, basically Vinny was all mouth.

Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever heard they came to blows or had a fight as Vinny shit it apparently when Billy pulled him, sure it was because Billy crashed into his car.

 

[diode_blade]

Wonder who it was Billy decked at the pub

 

[Sean Thornton]

Have to agree with you because most of the time he was a prick, could basically try and start with anyone for no reason whatsoever. But then he could be the nicest man you’ve ever met, a real jeckyll and hyde character to say the least.

Those Sunday afternoons in the Cricks were great when he was in a good mood and telling his stories.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever heard they came to blows or had a fight as Vinny shit it apparently when Billy pulled him, sure it was because Billy crashed into his car.

Wasn’t it Vinnys wife’s white XR2? He used the Everest on Chesterfield Road for takeaways and always turned up in one.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Wonder who it was Billy decked at the pub

More than one.

 

[HarryHaslam]

Wasn’t it Vinnys wife’s white XR2? He used the Everest on Chesterfield Road for takeaways and always turned up in one.

Not sure tbh but could be, can only vaguely remember the story about him crashing into Vinny’s car.

 

[HarryHaslam]

Wonder who it was Billy decked at the pub

Post #2 if you are on about the Wednesday fan he decked in town.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Not sure tbh but could be, can only vaguely remember the story about him crashing into Vinny’s car.

One take was that he’d taken the car keys and drove the car into a wall. On purpose after a few words. No idea if true.

I last saw him about 12 years ago in a building where there was a construction industry training course. “Taking another course Billy?” “Tekkin’ it,, l’m running, l’m the instructe, look l’ve got mi briefcase” . A carrier bag with a newspaper in it.

I looked through the doors a bit later, he’d got his feet up on a desk at the front reading the Mirror while the class watched a video.

 

[diode_blade]

One take was that he’d taken the car keys and drove the car into a wall. On purpose after a few words. No idea if true.

I last saw him about 12 years ago in a building where there was a construction industry training course. “Taking another course Billy?” “Tekkin’ it,, l’m running, l’m the instructe, look l’ve got mi briefcase” . A carrier bag with a newspaper in it.

I looked through the doors a bit later, he’d got his feet up on a desk at the front reading the Mirror while the class watched a video.

Not a teacher or lecturer you would find and say "ohhh Billy stop reading paper and teach"

 

[Sean Thornton]

Not a teacher or lecturer you would find and say "ohhh Billy stop reading paper and teach"

He probably ran a couple of football tickets and a meat raffle.

Pound a team pal.
No thanks.
POUND A TEAM!
Two please.

 

[Old Programme seller]

Yep, quite a few tough lads are like that, the late John Chidlaw, for one. Always a gent to me and the Mrs.

Yes John (a relation) was a scary character at my wedding the photographer said to me that he had one last shot left and want to take a memorable one of me and the mrs but John just took over and all 3 of us were in it.

 

[Bayingblade]

Yes John (a relation) was a scary character at my wedding the photographer said to me that he had one last shot left and want to take a memorable one of me and the mrs but John just took over and all 3 of us were in it.

Knew John well in later life (RIP). An absolute gent in every sense when I knew him. Played him in a golf knock out final once and beat him (having played VERY well) and it was almost embarrassing how he complimented me both at the end of the match and seemingly every time I saw him afterwards. Great drinking company too!

 

[Bayingblade]

It always amuses me when people lionise Whitehurst. He sounded like a galactic level prick

I'd pay to see you say that to his face one day

 

[Demon Blade]

Wife's family are from out that way, and they tell a tale of him never being able to beat a certain bloke in Thurnscoe, dating back to schooldays. Billy would sit in the Thurnscoe Hotel brooding, and every so often would go down to Thurnsoce Working Mens Club where this bloke drank, challenge him in the car park, scrap for a while, then have to admit defeat again.....

Think there must be something in the water. First job was in Goldthorpe. Enjoyed meeting my new workmates for a drink now and again but if Thurnscoe turned up omg it made Chap vs Hoyland look like children's playtime.

 

[GreasyChipBeattie]

From the article:

"He had a collision with Bruce Grobbelaar, his stitches burst, the blood went everywhere. The physio said, 'It's bad Billy, you have to come off'. He said, 'You try to take me off and I'll f****** kill you!'."

Kind of sums him up!

 

[Brewster Cost Millions]

 

[Gin&Juice]

Didn’t Whitehurst race whippets or greyhounds? Used to force Frenchy to assess them before they raced.

 

[I should coco]

Billy Whitehurst, evil?

Did he mouth off about the government spending more money on refugees, while making use of offshore tax shelters to avoid paying for any of it?

No wonder the MOTD wimps didn't include him. Billy and Mick Hartford were in a league of their own.

 

[Moan? Nope-I saw Longhorn]

Billy Whitehurst, evil?

Did he mouth off about the government spending more money on refugees, while making use of offshore tax shelters to avoid paying for any of it?

No wonder the MOTD wimps didn't include him. Billy and Mick Hartford were in a league of their own.

Aye
His ‘evilness’ extended to being done for “Benefit Fraud” - probably got a 90” TV , smokes 60 (Woodbine) a day, & fathered’ 23 bastard offspring (to 13 different women) n’all
Don’t know much about Mick Hartford although his near namesake that started out @ Lincoln (& routinely tortured us) was a reyt player

 

[Silent Blade]

No wonder the MOTD wimps didn't include him. Billy and Mick Hartford were in a league of their own.

At Wimbledon Vinnie Jones bullied his team mates except for Harford

 

[Sheffsteel]

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In the interview on Talksport he revealed one of his secrets of scrapping
and he said he used it against the Wednesday fan.

He said you chat with them in a calm friendly matter trying to defuse the situation.
Then you can catch them off guard, said if he gets the 1st clean punch in….then he always fancies his chances.
He talked about trouble in a Newcastle night club…where he was stabbed and CS gassed.

Billy mentioned Harford as someone in his era you didn’t mess with.
Mick Hartford wasn’t dirty like Whitehurst
but Hartford could be kicked and elbowed and never flinched as though he didn’t feel pain….he also had this menacing stare.

 

[Nick Jansky]

I'd pay to see you say that to his face one day

Do you think there is something admirable in violent behaviour?

 

[1889]

Some years ago I was told by the owner of a Hull Hotel (Boarding House) where Billy allegedly lodged during his time at Boothferry Park, that his impression of him was a that of a bully, who carefully chose his arguments.

According to him, one evening in the Hotel bar he started on another resident, a quietly spoken Icelandic Trawler skipper and apparently, very quickly realised he’d picked on the wrong person.

 

[mancunianblade]

Baffles me why people romanticise this period of anti football "hardman" crap, glad its in the past