Clint Boulton

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Clint Boulton
Personal information
Full name Clinton William Boulton[1]
Date of birth (1948-01-06) 6 January 1948 (age 76)[1]
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1963–1965 Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1965–1971 Port Vale 244 (11)
1971–1979 Torquay United 262 (34)
Minehead
Total 506+ (45+)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Clinton William Boulton (born 6 January 1948) is an English former professional football. A defender, he made 506 league appearances in a 14-year career in the Football League.

He began his professional career with Port Vale in August 1965, and went on to play 267 league and cup games for the club, helping the "Valiants" to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1969–70. He was sold on to Torquay United for a fee of £10,000 in November 1971. He remained with the "Gulls" for the next eight years, playing 286 games in all competitions. He left the club in 1979 and later played for non-league side Minehead.

Playing career

Boulton was born in Stoke-on-Trent and began his career as an apprentice with local league club Port Vale in July 1963.[1] He played five games of the 1964–65 season, as the "Valiants" were relegated out of the Third Division under Jackie Mudie.[1] Boulton scored on the last day of the season, in a 2–1 win over Walsall at Vale Park.[1] This made him the youngest goalscorer in the club's history.[2] He turned professional in August 1965 at the age of 17, and made 20 appearances in 1965–66.[1] He became a mainstay of the defence by 1966–67, featuring 39 times, scoring three goals.[1] He played 42 games under Stanley Matthews, however he "gave away two needless penalties" in a defeat to Portsmouth at Fratton Park in the FA Cup, and The FA also charged the club with paying Boulton and Gordon Logan illegal bonuses.[1] He remained at the club under new boss Gordon Lee, and made 46 appearances in 1968–69.[1] He was then an ever-present in the 52 game 1969–70 season, also scoring six goals, as Vale were promoted out of the Fourth Division after securing a fourth-place finish; he played consistently alongside defenders Ron Wilson and Roy Sproson, and goalkeeper Keith Ball.[1] He played 47 games in 1970–71, scoring two goals.[1] Sixteen games into the 1971–72 season, in November 1971, he was sold on to Torquay United for a fee of £10,000.[1] He played a total of 267 games for Port Vale in all competitions, scoring 12 times.[1]

He replaced Ian Twitchin at right-back and quickly settled into the side, playing all but the last four of the remaining games of the season as Torquay struggled unsuccessfully to avoid relegation out of the Third Division. He began the 1972–73 season as first choice in the centre of defence, though soon moved back to right-back in a reshuffle of the team. He was an ever-present until the local derby against Exeter City on Boxing Day 1972, but played just five games in the remainder of the season. Manager Jack Edwards was replaced by Malcolm Musgrove, and Boulton was an ever-present in 1973–74. The "Gulls" continued to battle in the bottom half of the table in 1974–75, before reaching ninth in 1975–76. Musgrove was replaced by Frank O'Farrell, who was in turn replaced by Mike Green, in a chaotic campaign in 1976–77. He was named the club's Player of the Season in 1976–77. Boulton remained a regular until the end of the 1977–78 season, as Torquay again finished ninth. However he played just eleven times the 1978–79 season, with his final game for Torquay coming on the final day of the season, a 1–0 defeat away to Rochdale. He left Plainmoor that summer, and was awarded a testimonial by Torquay with a friendly match against Southampton on 15 January 1980. In total he played 286 games for the club in league and cup competitions, scoring 36 goals.[3] He later played for Southern League side Minehead.

Post-retirement

Since retirement from football he has owned a company in Devon that produces blinds and awnings.[4]

Honours

Individual
  • Torquay United F.C. Player of the Year: 1976–77
with Port Vale

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Edwards, Leigh; Jon Gibbes, John Lovis (1999). Torquay United, The Official Centenary History, 1899–1999. p104, Yore Publications.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Clint_Boulton&oldid=3702216"