Ricky Hill

Luton Town

Ricky Hill joined Luton Town in 1975, and made 506 league and cup appearances, scoring 54 goals in the process. At 17, one month after signing professional terms, Hill came on as a substitute in a Second Division game where he scored a goal and made a goal assist in twenty-two minutes in a 3–1 victory over Bristol Rovers.

Hill spent 14 years at Luton and played a pivotal role in the club's promotion to the First Division in 1981–82 as Second Division champions, where he won back-to-back 'Player of the Year' awards (1980–1982). Hill was a part of the 1988 League Cup final-winning team that won their first – and only to date – major trophy as they beat Arsenal 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in front of 98,000 fans. They returned to the final again in 1989, only this time to experience defeat to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, 3–1.

Le Havre

In 1989, Hill moved on a free transfer to Le Havre in the French Division 2, where he was recommended to the club by Gerard Houllier. Whilst at Le Havre, Hill played under head coach Pierre Mankowski who went on to become assistant manager to Raymond Domenech with the France national team. Hill credits his time at Le Havre for providing him advanced insight into sports science and youth development of which the club is renowned for.

Leicester City

In 1990, Hill transferred to Leicester City, rejoining David Pleat for a brief spell who had been his manager at Luton Town previously.

Tampa Bay Rowdies…

Hill represented England at U18, U21, and Senior International levels, making his debut under Sir Bobby Robson, coming on as a substitute in the 1982 European Championship qualifier against Denmark in Copenhagen which resulted in a 2–2 draw. The following month Hill made his full starting debut against West Germany at Wembley in a 1–2 defeat. Hill missed out on the 1983 Australia tour due to an injury that required surgery. While being selected to the provisional 26-man squad for the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico, Hill was placed on standby after the squad was reduced to a 22-man traveling party. Hill was the fourth Black player to play for England's senior National team and the first British South Asian to represent England at the senior level. He was capped three times in total for England, with his last appearance being against Egypt on 29 January 1986.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

In 1992, Hill was introduced to Rodney Marsh, then CEO of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who were part of the American Professional Soccer League (APSL), the only professional soccer league in the US at the time. The Tampa Bay Rowdies afforded Hill's first opportunity in coaching where Marsh appointed Hill as Player/Coach six weeks after Hill's arrival in the US. That season saw the Rowdies appear in both the League Championship final and the Professional Cup final, in addition to Hill also being awarded 'Coach of the Year' amongst other notable player accolades such as Best Passer, All-Star First Team, Second Best Technical Player as voted by press correspondents.

Cocoa Expos

Hill returned to the UK briefly before once again heading back to the US in 1994 as the Technical Director/Player Coach of the Cocoa Expos organization in the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) and as an Assistant Coach at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) from 1994 to 1996. During his time with the Cocoa Expos, the franchise won the Southern Regional title before losing to the Richmond Kickers in the USISL Championship finals. For the 1995 season, the Cocoa Expos held esteemed records of scoring the most goals and conceding the least goals across all USISL professional teams.

Sheffield Wednesday

David Pleat was now managing Premiership club Sheffield Wednesday and headhunted Hill with an offer to join their organization. Despite having…

Ricky Hill was born on 5 March 1959 of mixed ancestry. While Hill's mother is Jamaican, his father's family is originally from the city of Lucknow in India. His paternal great-grandparents moved to Jamaica from India shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Hill's father Joseph, one of 11 children, eventually moved to London where he married Hill's mother Doris, a Jamaican whom Joseph had previously attended school alongside in Jamaica. Hill grew up in the London Borough of Brent, in Cricklewood - not far from Wembley Stadium. A talented footballer in his early years, Hill attended Anson Road Primary and John Kelly Boys School (now known as the Crest Boys Academy) in Neasden. Whilst at John Kelly, Hill was a teammate of former Arsenal and Brighton Hove Albion player Steve Gatting. At 15, Hill signed schoolboy forms with Luton Town in 1974 after being scouted playing for John Kelly Boys at a game in Hitchin where Luton coaches Roy McCrohan, David Pleat, and Danny Bergara were in attendance.