Continuing with our ongoing series which focuses on the plethora of decent players the Hatters scouting regime brought to the club, players that could quite aptly fall under the terrace chant of:
“He’s One of Our Own”
I’ve selected Andrew Edward King as the sixth player to be featured.
King, born in Luton on 14-August-1956, was spotted by the Hatters scouting system and offered an apprenticeship with the club.
His progress was such that he turned professional in July 1974 but despite being a fans favourite, he was only to grace the Hatters side until April 1976 after his skills and ability to burst forward and score from midfield saw Everton sign the player.
The fee was a very modest £35,000 and King was to make in excess of 150 League appearances for the Toffees scoring close to 40 goals.
Following his spell at Everton, King went on to play for a plethora of clubs, including – Queens Park Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Everton (again), Cambuur Leeuwarden, Örebro SK, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Luton Town (again), Aldershot, Aylesbury United, Waterford, Cobh Ramblers, KePS and Southport.
During his early development, King played twice for the England U21 side but never earned a full cap.
His playing career spanned 14 years with the midfielder making more than 300 league appearances and notching in excess of 80 goals.
As for footage of King in action, I stumbled across the following clip from 13-December-1975:
Sadly, King passed away in May 2015 aged just 58, a sad loss to all that knew him.
The footage below is a great tribute to the player:
I often wonder what a player like King would be worth in the modern game, for £35,000 the Hatters were robbed, and Everton certainly got a bargain.
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