Quick Facts
Biography
Kenny Hibbitt (born 3 January 1951) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Bradford Park Avenue, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City and Bristol Rovers, and in the North American Soccer League for the Seattle Sounders. He was capped once for England at under-23 level. As a manager, he took charge of Walsall, Cardiff City and Hednesford Town. He is most known for his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers, for whom he played from 1968 to 1984.
Career
Hibbitt joined Wolves from his home town club Bradford Park Avenue for £5,000 in November 1968. He finally made his club debut as a substitute in a 0-1 defeat to rivals West Bromwich Albion on 12 April 1969, aged just 18. He did not feature again though until 12 September 1970, when he scored his first of many goals in a 2-2 draw at Chelsea.
During his time at Molineux, Hibbitt won 2 League Cups (1974 and 1980, scoring in the 1974 final) and played in the 1972 UEFA Cup Final, where the club lost narrowly to countrymen Tottenham Hotspur. He also helped the club win two promotions back to the top flight.
He finally left Wolves in 1984, moving to Coventry City on a free transfer. In total, he played 544 games for Wolves, scoring 114 goals; the second most appearances a player has made in Wolves history.
His playing career came to an abrupt halt in February 1988, when he broke his leg playing for Bristol Rovers against Sunderland. He remained with the club after this, as assistant to manager Gerry Francis and helped the team win the (old) Division 3 title in 1990.
After this success, he was appointed manager of Walsall, who he took to the Division 3 play-offs in 1993/94. He took over as manager of Cardiff City from Eddie May in the summer of 1995, but moved upstairs to a director of football role with the arrival of Phil Neal the following year. However, Neal's time in charge was brief, departing after only a couple of months to become assistant to Steve Coppell at Manchester City. Hibbitt took over the team once again before handing the reins over to Russell Osman. Osman's period in charge was short however and in December 1996 Hibbitt took over team affairs for the third time, before being replaced by Frank Burrows in February 1998. The arrival of Burrows saw Hibbitt revert to his role as Director of Football. His influence was now greatly diminished however, and at the end of the 1997/98 season he left the club altogether.
He returned to management with non-league Hednesford Town in September 2001, but despite rescuing the club from a poor start and preserving their place in their division, he was dismissed at the end of the season. He now works for the Premier League, reviewing the performances of the referees. Kenny also assists in training local football team Kingswood who play in the Gloucestershire County League
His older brother Terry was also a professional footballer.
Honours
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Football League Cup: Winner 1974 & 1980
- UEFA Cup: Finalist 1972
As Assistant Manager with Bristol Rovers FC :-
- Football League Division Three: Champions 1989-90