Born in 1948 in Shelf, Halifax, the great Frank Worthington shone brightly as a talented footballer, entertainer, and a lover of the good life. Alongside other football mavericks of the era such as George Best, Stanley Bowles and Tony Currie, Frank combined extravagant skills with a larger-than-life personality. He played for clubs including Huddersfield Town, Leicester City, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United. He made more than 800 career appearances between 1966 and the early 90s, scoring more than 250 goals.

Frank was capped 8 times for England in 1974. England’s manager at the time, Joe Mercer, described him as “one of the best centre-forwards of all time. You can build teams around him.” Gary Lineker, who he played with at Leicester, called him “my boyhood hero...football would have been much the poorer for his absence”. George Best said "Frank is pure genius".

Frank sadly died in March 2021, from dementia, and we will be donating any surplus from this appeal to Sport United Against Dementia, a division of the Alzheimer’s Society.

The Blue Plaque appeal is being coordinated by Halifax Civic Trust, who manage the celebration of noted citizens of Halifax and the area. Frank is Halifax’s only England-capped international footballer, to our knowledge. Halifax Civic Trust is working with members of the Worthington family for this appeal.

Frank came from a football family. His father Eric played professionally, His elder brothers David and Bob had long careers, with Dave racking up nearly 500 career appearances, the majority for Grimsby Town, and Bob, almost 300 pro appearances, mostly for Notts County. Frank’s nephew Gary made nearly 200 professional appearances. All five Worthingtons played at some point for their local club, Halifax Town.

Frank was one of those players who brought a smile to anyone who watched him play; mention his name today to any supporter of a certain age of any one of his many clubs, and you will get a story or a memory. He was a true one of a kind.

We believe it’s time for Frank’s memory to be honoured by an official Blue Plaque to commemorate his life, at his birthplace in Shelf, Halifax.

The full cost of a Halifax Civic Trust Blue Plaque is approximately £650. Every pound you donate will go directly towards funding this application and installation.

We have set a target of £1000, with the hope that it will be well exceeded. Any excess will be donated in full to the Alzheimer’s Society Sport United Against Dementia who specifically work to support current and former players, staff, supporters and fans across the UK who are affected by dementia.

We’d be happy to see any memories you have of one of the most joyful players of the beautiful game, and will share them with Frank’s family. Thank you.