by Richard O. Smith
So, just when was the last time Boston signed a full British international? Actually, this isn't going to be a particularly impressive amount of time ago as ...ho-hum... it's only a year since Phil Gray's sudden arrival (and equally sudden departure - he may well have kept his car engine running whilst he was in Boston) from Oxford.
And, given he'd played for Northern Ireland in the 2002 World Cup campaign, that qualifies him. Prior to that there was another full British international amongst Boston's ranks in the 90s. That was... oh, alright... if you really want to guess rather than me not instantly reveal his identity.
That's right, it was ex-Scotland star Asa Harford, although the distance of time between Harford's international career and subsequent arrival at York Street could fairly be described as "immense", especially as he won his final cap for Scotland prior to Christianity coming to Britain. Indeed, American was still connected to Europe tn those days prior to continental drift kicking in.
All this leads to the question: who was the last full England international to don the famous amber shirt (yes, we're still referring to Boston).
Well, at the risk of some spectacularly lazy research being exposed, we're pretty sure it must be Kevin Hector. Perhaps the remarkable aspect about this was that Hector arrived at Boston only a few months after being in the England squad, and didn't take the usual International star's fall from grace route to the non-league game which usually takes 15 years of spiralling gambling debts, knee-injuries, bar bills and "incidences outside night clubs" (give us a wave Jimmy Greaves).
Teasingly, the actual facts of Hector's imminent arrival at York Street were revealed individually, not unlike the way a stripper removes garments. Firstly, the club announced a well known star would be coming to Boston, then fully two weeks later they leaked it was a First Division player (yeah, Premiership to you and me then), then after another calculated seven days had been allowed to pass with no name released, BUFC informed the press that he was a current England international.
But, vitally, no actual identity was yet known. Then the press "rumoured", one suspects with club consent, that the player - still referred to as Mr. ? in the press with the Lincolnshire standard actually going so far as to print a photo of a footballer in an England shirt with a giant Question Mark obscuring his face (I assumed it was that bloke who had a hit record with "96 Tears" and fronted the Mysterians) - we awaited the visit of Macclesfield Town to York Street on 23rd September 1978.
Curiosity had swelled the crowd to well over 2,000, an attendance vastly higher than the average at the time, but most muttered a collective disappointment when the teams ran out of the tunnel and their was no ex-England international with a huge polystyrene Question Mark on his head. Hmmmmm. So now what?
No longer oblivious to the fact that the supporters were now starting to get annoyed rather than intrigued by the club's perpetual teasing, United finally provided the Tines Standard" with an exclusive - but not for another 10 days mind. On 4th October, the front page of the Standard declared in huge bold type "It's Hector". Even allowing for the fact that this was the 70s, his chosen hair style in the accompanying photo realty would have benefited from the re-insertion of that obscuring Question Mark.
The "It's Hector" headline represented quite a departure for the Lines Standard headline writing sub-editors of the era as for years they had fundamentally failed to deviate from the same headline for every game, which was "Boston Pay The Penalty". This was occasionally reversed to "(insert name of opposing team) Pay Penalty". Oddly, whenever there wasn't a penalty awarded in to either side, the Standard seemed to have the choice of going with either a blank space or "Boston Don't Pay The Penalty".
Whilst discussing Standard headlines I should also point out a truly tragically missed opportunity. The paper reported at the time that Hector was considering purchasing a property in the Boston area, and the paper headlined the piece with "Hector's House"? Err, no. They opted instead for the ticklishly witty "Hector Considers Buying Property in The Local Boston Area". Snappy.
Alright, fact fans, upon which ground did Hector first run out donned in a Boston shirt? Remember, here, that he was used to plying his goalscoring trade at Old Trafford, Highbury, Anfield and even Wembley (he played in that famously ill-fated 1974 World Cup Qualifier against Poland when the Polish goalkeeper - so famously branded as a "clown" by Brian Clough on national TV prior to the game - saved absolutely everything Hector and the other England forwards could offer, presumably with his size 52 boots).
The historical fact is that Kevin Hector made his Boston debut away at Retford Town's glamorous ground - the tiny tin roofed sentry post that masqueraded as a main stand was there to provide a visual reminder to chart just how far his career had evidently declined in 24 months.
I remember attending this game, and whereas Boston dispensed with the home opposition by a margin even easier than the 4-1 scoreline suggests, sadly the fact that Hector scored his debut goal for Boston (Brown, Kabia and Poplar provided the other goals - we're still hoping you're fond of facts) in this game is a secondary memory of the match, for there was a quite stomach-churning outbreak of trouble at this encounter which saw many people injured by hooliganism in an outbreak of boundless stupidity. A week later, in a much less hostile environment, Hector charted his York Street debut with a goal in a 2-0 defeat of Frickley Athletic.
Hector stayed with Boston until February 1979, and scored his final goal in United's colours during a 4-0 F. A. Trophy defeat of Worcester City. He then returned to Derby County, and went immediately into the Rams' First Division side and reverted back to scoring goals at Anfield, Old Trafford and Highbury instead of Retford Town - thus rendering his 5 months as a Boston player even more surreal; it was a bit like the ending sequence in Mr Benn when, after the shopkeeper suddenly disappears and Mr. Benn is left contemplating whether he had just experienced either a dream or a real adventure, he requires one piece of hard evidence to reassure himself that his adventure had not just been a daydreamt fantasy. Well, we've got several programmes with his name on the Boston team sheet to prove it.
Another strange occurrence in the Hector story is the route by which he came to Boston. Although he was known primarily as a Derby County player, he briefly exchanged the familiarity of his English lifestyle for American Major League soccer, and sailed to the States for a brand new start - hmmm, not unlike some other famous Boston residents before him. But Hector didn't travel to the East Coast, instead he joined the bizarrely named Vancouver Whitecaps, from which Boston offered him an ejector seat back to Britain after he realised that Vancouver wasn't actually in the USA!
Amazingly, Kevin still plays football today, turning out well into his 50s for Shardlow St-James who play in the Central Midlands League. He now works as a postman, and recently appeared in the local newspaper after he had fallen off his bike on a frosty morning post round; I bet that as he was falling, his old striker instincts kicked-in, and he raised his arm for a penalty.
Kevin Hector, striker (1978-79) Ex-Bradford Park Avenue and Derby County. Won two England international caps. Joined us from Vancouver Whitecaps. Debut: 7th October 1978 against Retford Town 4-1 (Brown, Kabia, Poplar, Hector), F. A. Cup. His last goal was in the 4-0 victory against Worcester City, FA Trophy, 3/2/79.
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All content copyright Richard O. Smith 1988-2002