Frank Worthington: 1948-2021

Leicester City Club Historian John Hutchinson remembers Frank, who was one of the most entertaining players ever to represent the Foxes.

He signed for Leicester City from Huddersfield Town in August 1972. At the time he was described as an aggressive, powerful striker very much in the traditional centre-forward mould who had just completed a very successful close-season tour with the England Under-23s side. He was much more than this. He was a flair player who entertained the crowd with sublime skill in his role as a rampaging striker.

Frank had nearly signed for Liverpool, but he failed a medical and Leicester City manager Jimmy Bloomfield was able to snap him up for £80,000.

A few days later, Frank had a dream debut for his new club. He scored at Old Trafford in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. 

In the years which followed, Frank took centre-stage in a Leicester City side which became one of the most attractive footballing sides in the country. It included such stars as Peter Shilton, Steve Whitworth, Keith Weller, Lenny Glover, Jon Sammels and Alan Birchenall.

He played in every match in his first three years at the Club, only missing a handful of games in his five years at Filbert Street during which he played in nearly 250 games, scoring 78 goals. He was top scorer in 1973/74 with 24 goals in the cup and the league. This form earned him eight England caps between May and November 1974. He scored two goals for England, against Argentina and Bulgaria. For three of these games, his Leicester City team-mates, Weller and Shilton, were in the same England side.

When he left Filbert Street in 1977, Frank went on to play for over a dozen other clubs. These included Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Leeds United, Sunderland, Southampton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Tranmere Rovers (where he was later the manager) Preston North End and Stockport County. He also  played in the USA and South Africa.

Without doubt, though, the most successful five years of Frank’s career were spent at Leicester City. His entertaining centre-forward play will live forever in the minds of those fans lucky enough to have seen him.

The thoughts of all at the Club are with Frank’s wife Carol, his family and his friends at this sad time.