1970s playboy England striker
EVEN in an era filled with flamboyant, maverick footballers, FrankWorthington stood head and shoulders above the rest.
The great Bill Shankly tried to sign the playboy centre-forward from Huddersfield for his allconquering Liverpool team in 1972 but the club-record £150,000 deal was put on hold because Frank’s medical revealed he suffered from high blood pressure.
Shankly toldWorthington to take a holiday to Majorca, where he had the time of his life with several young women attracted by his rock-star good looks.A second medical found his blood pressure to be even higher and Liverpool pulled the plug on the deal.
Instead, he signed for Leicester City and scored 72 goals in 210 games over five seasons. During his time at Filbert Street he also won eight England caps.
Frank StewartWorthington was born into a family of footballers in Shelf, near Halifax in West
Yorkshire. Both his parents played the game and his two older brothers were also professionals.
His career-defining moment came after he signed for Bolton Wanderers, in a clash with Ipswich Town in 1979.Worthington, with his back to goal on the edge of the penalty area, juggled the ball with his left foot, flicked it over his shoulder and volleyed it into the net.The strike won Goal OfThe Season. It was such an amazing feat even the referee applauded.
Worthington won the Golden Boot as Division One’s top scorer
in 1979 and signed for a host of clubs including Leeds United and Sunderland. His first marriage in 1973 to former Miss Sweden, Birgitta Egermalm, produced a son and daughter. In 1986 he married Carol Dwyer who survives him.
He died in hospital in Huddersfield after a long illness.