Phil Hoadley

Philip Damien Hoadley (6 January 1952 – 5 May 2024) was an English footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League playing as a central defender for Crystal Palace, Orient and Norwich City.^[3]

Phil Hoadley

Personal information
Full name	Philip Damien Hoadley
Date of birth	(1952-01-06)6 January 1952
Place of birth	Battersea, London, England
Date of death	5 May 2024(2024-05-05) (aged 72)
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s)	Central defender
Youth career
1967–1968	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1972	Crystal Palace	73[2]	(1)
1972–1978	Orient	255	(9)
1978–1982	Norwich City	77	(0)
Total		406	(10)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Hoadley was born in Battersea, London. He began his career as an apprentice with Crystal Palace.^[3] He made his first-team debut on 27 April 1968, as a substitute in the Second Division match away to Bolton Wanderers. At 16 years 112 days, he became Palace's then youngest player.^[4] After appearing in 88 matches in all competitions for Crystal Palace,^[5] he joined Orient, in September 1971,^[2] whom he captained to the semi-finals of the 1977–78 FA Cup.^[6] Having played nearly 300 games for Orient,^[7] his transfer to Norwich City in 1978 was the first move under freedom of contract legislation with a tribunal setting his value at £110,000.^[8][9] After three years with Norwich he moved to play in Hong Kong football in February 1982,^[10] but was forced to retire from professional football following a knee injury.^[8] He returned to England and became a publican.^[10]

Later life and death

Following his professional football career Hoadley remained involved with amateur football in the Norfolk area and worked in a variety of jobs before returning to Norwich City in the 1990s as football in the community officer.^[8] As of 2006^[update], he was landlord of a community-run public house in his local village.^[11]

Hoadley died on 5 May 2024, at the age of 72.^[12]