Chris Brass hugs Busby after a game in 2004
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vivian Dennis Busby[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1949-06-19)19 June 1949[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Slough, England | ||
| Date of death | 8 May 2024(2024-05-08) (aged 74) | ||
| Height | 5 ft11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1966–1970 | Wycombe Wanderers | 50 | (19) |
| 1970–1973 | Luton Town | 77 | (16) |
| 1971–1972 | → Newcastle United (loan) | 4 | (2) |
| 1973–1976 | Fulham | 118 | (29) |
| 1976–1977 | Norwich City | 22 | (11) |
| 1977–1980 | Stoke City | 50 | (10) |
| 1980 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 3 | (1) |
| 1980–1981 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 19 | (1) |
| 1981–1982 | Blackburn Rovers | 8 | (1) |
| 1982–1983 | York City | 19 | (4) |
| Total | 370 | (94) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1993 | Hartlepool United | ||
| 2004–2005 | York City (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vivian Dennis Busby (19 June 1949 – May 2024[3]) was an English professional footballer and manager. He played for Wycombe Wanderers, Luton Town, Newcastle United, Fulham, Norwich City, Stoke City, Sheffield United, Tulsa Roughnecks, Blackburn Rovers and York City.[1]
Born in Slough, Buckinghamshire,[1] Busby started his playing career at Wycombe Wanderers in 1966, but was unable to hold down a regular place in their team. He moved to Luton Town in January 1970.[4]AtKenilworth Road, he scored four goals in his first nine matches, helping the club gain promotion to the Second Division in 1969–70. He scored eight goals in 1970–71 but struggled to find form in 1971–72 and spent time out on loan at Newcastle United. He was sold to Fulham in August 1973 where he had the most prolific spell of his career. He scored 12 goals in 1973–74 and 18 in 1974–75 of which six were in the FA Cup helping Fulham reach the 1975 FA Cup final, losing 2–0 against West Ham United. After scoring 38 goals in 155 matches for the Cottagers, he moved to First Division Norwich City where he scored 11 goals in his first 18 matches, including a hat-trick against Leicester City on New Year's Day 1977.[citation needed]
However, he fell out of favour in 1977–78 and moved on to Stoke City.[1]In1978–79, he helped Stoke gain promotion to the First Division.[1] He scored 12 goals for Stoke in 60 matches and spent a short time on loan at Sheffield United before moving to the United States to play for Tulsa Roughnecks.[1] He stayed in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the 1980 North American Soccer League season before returning to England with Blackburn Rovers, and then ended his playing career with York City.[1]
Busby worked as a coach at York City between 1982 and 1987.[5] He was Sunderland AFC first team coach under Denis Smith between 1987 and 1991. He became manager of Hartlepool United on 15 February 1993 and left the position on 24 November 1993.[6] He was a youth team coach at Swindon Town in 2001, during which time he underwent six months of treatment for leukaemia.[7] He was named as assistant manager at York City in September 2004.[8] He became the caretaker manager at York City in November 2004 following the sacking of Chris Brass.[9] He left York by mutual consent on 10 February 2005, when he was replaced by Billy McEwan.[10] Busby worked as Youth Academy Manager at Gretna,[11] but left after a change to the backroom staff.[12] He was appointed assistant manager at Workington in September 2007.[12] He left in October 2011 to emigrate to Spain.[13]
Busby was the older brother of former Queens Park Rangers midfielder Martyn Busby.[14] Busby died in May 2024, at the age of 74.[15]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[a] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1966–67 | Isthmian League | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 |
| 1967–68 | Isthmian League | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 | |
| 1968–69 | Isthmian League | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | |
| 1969–70 | Isthmian League | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 50 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 19 | ||
| Luton Town | 1969–70 | Third Division | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 |
| 1970–71 | Second Division | 27 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 8 | |
| 1971–72 | Second Division | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 1972–73 | Second Division | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
| Total | 77 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 86 | 16 | ||
| Newcastle United (loan) | 1971–72 | First Division | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Fulham | 1973–74 | Second Division | 38 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 12 |
| 1974–75 | Second Division | 38 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 18 | |
| 1975–76 | Second Division | 37 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 50 | 8 | |
| 1976–77 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 118 | 29 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 155 | 38 | ||
| Norwich City | 1976–77 | First Division | 17 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 11 |
| 1977–78 | First Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 11 | ||
| Stoke City | 1977–78 | Second Division | 22 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 |
| 1978–79 | Second Division | 18 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | |
| 1979–80 | First Division | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Total | 50 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 12 | ||
| Sheffield United (loan) | 1979–80 | Third Division | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 1980 | North American Soccer League | 19 | 1 | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1980–81 | Second Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| York City | 1982–83 | Fourth Division | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 |
| 1983–84 | Fourth Division | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 19 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 370 | 94 | 21 | 8 | 22 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 431 | 105 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Hartlepool United | 15 February 1993 | 24 November 1993 | 40 | 9 | 9 | 22 | 022.5 | [17] |
| York City (caretaker) | 8 November 2004 | 10 February 2005 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 028.6 | [10][17] |
| Total | 54 | 13 | 11 | 30 | 024.1 | — | ||
Luton Town
Fulham
Stoke City
York City
Managerial positions
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