Saddlers Legends

Ken Hodgkisson was its fair to say a classic British play-maker and a loyal one at that. After signing from West Brom in 1955 he stayed at Walsall for 11 years and during that time played a part in some of our most important and memorable games.

Although a record of 57 goals in 336 games is nothing to get too excited about, Hodgkisson was about more than putting the ball in the net.

As an inside-forward he was known for his ball winning and distribution skills and was very much a team player.

This was seen most clearly in our 1960/61 promotion winning season. Hodgkisson even set up the winning goal at Gay Meadow in front of the stadium’s largest ever crowd- 18,917- as a 2-1 win saw us reach the Second Division.

During his 11 years Hodgkisson worked alongside some of our best players including Colin Taylor, Colin Askey and Tommy Wilson and his ability to adapt played a huge part in our early 1960’s success.

When Hodgkisson left the club in ’66 he joined Worcester City and continued in football for many years after. He still lives locally and does Saddlers matches every now and then.