The Cambridge football community was saddened to hear of the death on Sunday, at the age of 84, of former United inside forward Brian Hart...
The first U’s player to earn international honours when he was selected for England Youth in 1959, Brian subsequently followed a career with West Bromwich Albion, Nuneaton Borough, Cambridge City and Wellington Town, which became Telford United in 1969.
A creative player of great football intelligence, he also had a goalscoring knack that made him a favourite at every one of those clubs.
Born in Cambridge in 1941, Brian grew up in Horningsea, where his parents ran a shop and post office. As a boy he was no stranger to the Abbey Stadium, accompanying his father, an avid U’s supporter, to matches.
His football abilities attracted attention during his time at Bottisham Village College, and he joined the United ground staff at the invitation of manager Bert Johnson.
He played an important role in the 1958-59 United youth team that swept all before it, winning every game it played apart from a defeat in the FA Youth Cup, scoring over 300 goals and clinching three trophies including the county FA Youth Cup.
That season was a triumph for the young Brian in several ways: besides his England Youth call-up, he was part of the Cambridgeshire side that played London at Stamford Bridge in the semi-finals of the FA County Youth Cup, with Brian being marked by future England player and manager Terry Venables.
But it was his international honour that was truly groundbreaking. At the time United had only just progressed from the Eastern Counties League to the Southern League and it was a rare event for a youngster at a non-League club to be chosen for England.
International players – including the great Wilf Mannion, with whom Brian trained – had played for United before, but Brian was the first to be selected while at the club.
Playing against the Republic of Ireland at Anfield on 9 May 1959, he scored with a header in the tenth minute and set up two more goals in a 5-0 win.
By that time, Brian had appeared for United’s first team, playing in an East Anglian Cup tie against Norwich City on 27 October 1958. That match was abandoned because of fog, but he also played in the rearranged game the following March.
In August 1959, he went for trials with West Ham United and Leicester City before signing professional forms for West Brom at the age of 18. He spent three years at the Hawthorns – marrying local girl Sheila in 1962 – before moving on to Nuneaton, for whom he scored 23 goals in 1962-63.
Brian was Nuneaton’s leading scorer when he returned to Cambridge to sign for City in January 1965, and he scored twice the following month when the Milton Road outfit won the Fenland Cup.
After 62 games for the Lilywhites first team and reserves – including several against his old friends at United – and having scored 14 goals, he moved on to Wellington, where he enjoyed his most successful period in football.
After the club changed its name to Telford, he played at Wembley in two FA Trophy finals as the club lost 2-0 to Macclesfield Town in 1970 but beat Hillingdon Borough 3-2 the following year.
After spending time in a care home, Brian died peacefully, surrounded by family members, on May 18. Sheila died in 2018. He leaves a daughter, a son and two grandchildren.