Back then, Hine netted his fourth and final goal for England and, like Vardy’s goals, they had all been scored while he was a City player. Hine one of the great names in the Club's history. During his seven seasons at Filbert Street, between 1926 and 1932, he scored 156 goals.
Until Vardy surpassed that total this season, this made him the third highest scorer in the Club’s history, behind Arthur Chandler and Arthur Rowley. Ernie won six England caps between 1928 and 1931, scoring his four goals in matches against Wales and Northern Ireland.
One of Ernie’s England caps, which is in immaculate condition, is now part of the Club’s heritage collection. It has been loaned to Leicester City, along with other memorabilia from his illustrious career, by his granddaughter Rosemary Walker, who lives near Huddersfield.
Rosemary told us that her grandfather used to keep his caps wrapped in tissue paper in a little suitcase and that she used to play with them when she was little. At school, she used to brag about her grandad playing for England but nobody believed her!
While still at Leicester City, Ernie was also selected five times for the Football League and went on the 1931 FA tour to Canada with Foxes team-mate Len Barry. Rosemary and her husband John have also loaned Ernie’s tour cap to the Club together with other memorabilia.
In several respects, Vardy’s career has echoes from that of Hine. Before they became footballers, both had manual jobs. One worked in a mine and the other in a factory. They both played for the two most successful sides in Leicester City’s history, one in 1929 and the other in 2016.
They both had scoring sequences for the Foxes which were records at the time. Ernie scored in six successive games and Jamie’s 11 goals in successive games is now a Premier League record. They both played in England sides with a Leicester City team-mate too.