10 Greatest Aston Villa Strikers Ever
Aston Villa is one of the biggest football clubs in England. They have a huge fan base and many great players have played for the club in their rich history. In this article, let us have a look at some of the greatest Aston Villa strikers ever.
Based on the number & frequency of goals scored, the importance of goals, impact on the team, loyalty and longevity, here are the ten greatest Aston Villa strikers ever.
10. Gerry Hitchens
Despite the fact that Villa had won the FA Cup the previous season, boss Eric Houghton knew that he needed a fast, goalscoring centre-forward. In December 1957, Houghton got his man when Cardiff accepted a £22,500 bid from the Midlands club for Gerry Hitchens.
Hitchens took time to shine as he spent a lot of time away during his national service with the Army. Thus he took 2 seasons to reach his potential after completing his national service. When this happened, the result was spectacular! He spent four seasons with Villa, scoring 96 goals in 160 appearances.
9. Dwight Yorke
Yorke started his Villa career on the right wing but eventually moved to play in the striker’s role. Once Brian Little moved him to a more forward role in 95/96, he became one of the deadliest strikers in Premier League history.
The Trinidad & Tobago international went on to score 97 goals in 288 appearances for the Claret and Blue. His exit was a controversial one as Villa fans rarely forgive any player moving directly to Manchester United. It left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Villa fans but his contribution during his time at the club can’t be overlooked.
8. George Brown
George Brown was signed in August 1929 for £5,000 after having scored 159 goals in 229 games for Huddersfield Town. In his first season at Villa he netted 36 times, with hat-tricks against Arsenal, Everton and Blackburn Rovers.
He then fired Aston Villa to runners up spot in the League in 1932-33 with 35 goals during the campaign. During five years at Aston Villa he scored 89 goals in 126 appearances, twice finishing runners up in the League, before joining Burnley in 1934.
7. Joe Bache
Joe Bache joined Aston Villa in 1899 and soon formed a prolific partnership with Harry Hampton. He was a part of the Villa side that won the 1905 and 1913 FA Cups and scored 22 goals in 35 games during the First Division title triumph of 1909/10.
Bache joined the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War and went on to serve on the Western Front. He appeared 474 times for Villa and scored a total of 185 goals at the end of his career.
6. Jack Devey
Jack Devey is considered one of Aston Villa’s greatest captains. He played for a variety of local teams before signing for Aston Villa in March, 1891. Jack was a skilful centre-forward, and was exceptionally clever with head. He was Villa’s top goal scorer in 6 of his 12 seasons with the club.
For eight years, Devey captained Aston Villa during which time they won the League championship five times between 1894 and 1900 and the FA Cup twice. Including the famous ‘Double’ in the 1896–97 season.
5. Johnny Dixon
Johnny Dixon spent his entire professional career as a footballer at Aston Villa after writing to the club asking for a trial simply because he liked their name.
Dixon went on to score 144 goals in 430 games and, on top of the 1957 Wembley triumph, he helped Villa back into the top flight by winning the Second Division title in 1959-60. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Aston Villa strikers ever.
4. Peter Withe
Peter Withe was signed for a then club-record £500,000 at the start of the 1980-81 season. His name has the firmest of standings in Villa folklore as the scorer of the winning goal in the greatest moment in Villa’s history. He is the man who got that famous winning goal against Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in 1982.
He spent five years at Villa, scoring 92 goals in 233 appearances. 20 of those came in the title-winning season.
3. Harry Hampton
Harry “Happy” Hampton played as a centre-forward for Aston Villa from 1904 to 1920. He scored 242 goals for the club in just 376 matches.
Hampton made an immediate impact at Villa and scored 22 goals during an impressive first season at the club. He then went on to score both goals in Villa’s 1905 FA Cup Final triumph over Newcastle United and later helped them to the 1909/10 First Division title.
Despite this impressive goal-scoring record, Hampton was only ever capped four times by England but did manage to score two goals in games against both Wales and Scotland.
2. Billy Walker
Walker spent 19 years with the club. With 244 goals to his name, the striker still remains Villa’s all-time leading goalscorer despite almost half a decade passing since his death in 1964.
He captained Villa and England during the 1920s, scoring 12 League and FA Cup hat-tricks. He became the first player to convert three penalties in a game. If that wasn’t impressive enough he also deputized in goal for club and country.
1. Tom ‘Pongo’ Waring
Pongo Waring was just over six-feet tall, and had everything a top striker needs. Height, speed, amazing strength – he was almost impossible to knock off the ball – and intelligence.
With a strike rate of three goals every four games, Pongo will live long in Villa’s history. He was rated one of the most dangerous centre forwards between the wars. Pongo was loved by the Villa Park crowd and he was certainly a colourful character.
In his 226 appearances for Villa, he scored 167 goals, including 10 hat-tricks. He holds a club record of 49 league goals in the 1930–31 season, 50 goals in all competitions.