Houghton had seemed destined for a life in soccer since his teenage
days as a prodigiously prolific centre-forward who revelled in turning
out for his school on a Saturday morning, then playing for his village
side in the afternoon. After excelling in local non-League circles,
notably with Boston Town, he was recommended to Aston Villa by an
uncle who had once played for the club, signing amateur forms in 1927
and giving up a bakery job to turn professional a year later.
Having been converted into a flankman - Villa were magnificently
served in the centre by the revered "Pongo" Waring - Houghton gained
rapid promotion to the senior side, uncharacteristically missing a
penalty on his debut in January 1930 but impressing generally with his
dashing style, his slick manipulation of the ball and, above all, his
shooting prowess.
Clearly the eager rookie offered immense promise, but no one
expected the Houghton star to ascend quite so instantly as it did
during the season of 1930-31, in which he scored 30 times as Villa
finished as First Division runners-up, and he was rewarded by an
England call-up. He netted in that game, too, a 5-1 victory over All
Ireland, and could count himself unlucky that his prime coincided with
that of Arsenal's Cliff Bastin, whose brilliance ended Houghton's
international involvement only two years later.
At club level, however, the Villa man continued to flourish, and he
played a major part in the club's Second Division championship triumph
of 1938. All the while the Houghton "howitzer" grew in renown and he
became a dead- ball specialist, many of the 170 senior goals he netted
before leaving Villa Park in 1946 having come from penalties and
free-kicks.
Houghton's new club was lowly Notts County, for whom he played
until 1949 when he took over as manager and, with England
centre-forward Tommy Lawton at his disposal, led them to the Third
Division (South) title in his first campaign at the helm. Three terms
of unspectacular consolidation followed before he took the job closest
to his heart, that of bossing Aston Villa. Quietly but firmly, he set
about revitalising a once-great club now fallen on mediocre times. He
gave youngsters a chance and he spent heavily on well-known recruits,
but could not achieve his ambition of mounting a realistic
championship challenge.
There was uplifting consolation in 1957, though, when the Villans
upset the odds to beat newly-crowned League champions Manchester
United in the FA Cup Final, albeit in controversial circumstances
after United's goalkeeper was seriously injured. However, hopes that
the Wembley victory would inspire a general recovery were dashed and,
with his side struggling near the foot of the table, a sad Houghton
was sacked in November 1958.
Thereafter the popular Eastcountryman joined Nottingham Forest as
chief scout and bossed non-League Rugby Town in the early 1960s,
before serving Walsall in various capacities, including director. Next
he enjoyed a second return to Villa Park, pioneering the club lottery
before taking a seat on the board for seven years from 1972, and in
1983 was elevated to senior vice-president.
Houghton - who in his youth had been a sporting all-rounder
proficient enough at cricket to play for Lincolnshire at Minor
Counties level and Warwickshire Seconds - retained his fervour for
football to the end, watching Villa regularly at senior, reserve and
youth level until ill health curtailed his activity during the current
season. He never tired of reminiscing with supporters, never refused
to sign an autograph, was never less than a perfect gentlemen. When
Eric Houghton died, Aston Villa lost one of their most loyal servants
and an ambassador of immeasurable worth. - The Independant
Obituary
England
Football Online
