Luton Town – The Legends Series – Kingsley Black

For the latest in our ongoing series covering those who have achieved legendary status among the support, we feature another former Luton figure who became a fans favourite.

Following on from those already covered – John Moore, David Preece, Mal Donaghy, Brian Lewis, Bruce Rioch, Fred Jardine, Brian Horton, Kevin Nicholls, Tony Read, Steve Foster, Mike Keen, Ian Buxton, Lars Elstrup, Peter Anderson, Graham French, Alan West, David Moss, Terry Branston, John Aston, Paul Futcher, John Ryan, Syd Owen, Marvin Johnson, Malcolm MacDonald, Bob Hatton, Steve Buckley,Chris Coyne, Ron Baynham, John Still, Jack Bannister, Ricky Hill, Chris Nicholl, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, Don Givens, Gordon Turner, Brian Stein, Jesse Pye, Raddy Antic, Joe Payne, Max Dougan, Alan Slough, Ray Whittaker, Dave Pacey, Milija Aleksic, Ron Davies, Sandy Davie John O’Rourke, Les Sealey, Bob Morton, Wally Shanks, Gordon Riddick, Billy Bingham, Herbert Moody, Adrian Alston, Reg Pearce, Keith Allen, Jimmy Ryan, George Cummins, Rodney Fern, Harry Walden, Billy McDerment, Scott Oakes and Bert Mitchell

For the latest in our ongoing and, hopefully, comprehensive series, we’re going to take a brief look at the career of Kingsley Black, as nominated by Mad Hatter.

Kingsley was a rarity in our game, when it comes to modern day football, a home-grown lad who made it playing for his home town club.

During his Luton Town career, Kingsley went on to make 156 appearances, in all competitions, scoring on 31 occasions.

His skills were that good and he impressed so much, in the reserves, that he was awarded his first team debut, against Queens Park Rangers, at the tender age of just 19-years-of-age.

Equally adapt at playing out wide or in the middle of the park, Kingsley soon became a fans favourite and was part of the superb Hatters side that defied the critics and beat Arsenal in the thrilling League Cup Final, at Wembley, in the 1987/1988 season.

Another aspect of his career that deserves a mention is that, at the Baseball Ground, on the last day of the 1989/1990 season, with Luton needing to beat The Rams, Kingsley scored twice in the 3-2 win that secured the Hatters top-flight status for at least another season.

But, sadly, his career, at Kenilworth Road, came to an end when Luton Town agreed to sell the player to Nottingham Forest in 1991.

Unfortunately, for Kingsley, he never quite hit the same heights playing for Nottingham Forest and spent time on loan at several other clubs beore slipping down through the leagues.

On the international front, Kingsley look destined for a career with England, after playing for the U18 side but switched allegiance, courtesy of his fathers’ nationality, to play for Northern Ireland, earning a respectable 30 caps.

Kingsley Black – Mini Fact File

Name – Kingsley Terence Black

Date of Birth – 22-June-1968

Place of Birth – Luton, England

Position – Midfielder

Playing Career – Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United (loan), Millwall (loan), Grimsby Town, Lincoln City (loan), Lincoln City

International Career – England U18, Northern Ireland U21, Northern Ireland U23, Northern Ireland B, Northern Ireland

Away from the pressure of playing football, my wife and I were fortunate enough to bump into Kingsley while he was relaxing in a local public house, the Wheelright Arms in Luton.

Now my wife had a crush on Kingsley, in her younger days, and was in awe of him, but the evening ended in comical fashion when, quite by chance, I was stood next to Kingsley at the urinal and was just about to make conversation with him when an acquaintance of mine, Keith, strolled in and, giving a superb Brian Clough impression, questioned what Kingsley was doing drinking on a Saturday night. The look on Kingsley’s face was a picture.

If you feel able to share any of your thoughts or memories on the Hatters career of Kingsley Black, please feel free to do so in the comment facility beneath this article.

If you can think of anyone who deserves nominating for coverage in this ongoing series, please drop their name into the comment facility beneath this article.

My thanks go to those who have already nominated faces from the past, they will all be covered, in time.

Next up in the series will be Mike Harrison as suggested by David Gadsden.

COYH’s

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