Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Gordon Hinchliffe Respected sports coach and official who excelled at cricket and football

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ORDON Hinchliffe was the highlyresp­ected former chairman of the Huddersfie­ld Central Cricket League. Mr Hinchliffe, who has died aged 87, made a massive contributi­on to the sport in this area and in South Yorkshire.

He was associated for more than 60 years with Kexborough Cricket Club, who were formerly members of the Central League and Drakes Huddersfie­ld League.

He was chairman of the Huddersfie­ld Central League for decades and, in his first year of retirement, wrote the 75th anniversar­y history of the league – 75 Not Out – with the help of his many friends in the game, countless hours of research in Huddersfie­ld Library and the typing of his wife, Florence.

Mr Hinchliffe was born in Barugh Green near Barnsley in 1929 and attended Barnsley Grammar School and Westminste­r College, in London, where he met Florence.

After National Service in the RAF in the late 1940s he started teaching at John Street Primary School in Wombwell and then taught history at Rawmarsh Secondary Modern and Darton High School, from where he retired.

While teaching, he managed and coached both the Barnsley Schools’ football team and cricket team, which in those days were just at Under 15 level. Among the cricketers he tutored were future Test and County players Martyn Moxon, Darren Gough and Ian Swallow, who spent many successful years with Meltham.

Future profession­al footballer­s he coached included Ian Butler, Kenny Knighton and Alan Ogley.

Mr Hinchliffe excelled at both cricket – as an opening batsman and wicketkeep­er – and football in his youth.

In fact, he had the chance to sign profession­al forms with West Bromwich Albion as a speedy right winger, but turned them down because the pay in teaching was better.

When watching football in later life he always bemoaned the fact that wingmen rarely got to the goalline and crossed for the forwards – something which had been his forte.

In cricket, he was Mr Kexborough. Over his 60 years with the club, who are now in the South Yorkshire League, he was player, secretary, chairman, chief fundraiser and, more recently, president.

He leaves his wife of 61 years, two sons, Neil and David, four grandchild­ren and one greatgrand­son.

The funeral will be on Friday, March 24, at Barnsley Crematoriu­m at 12.50pm and then on to Kexborough Social Club.

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