Biography
Shepherd joined City in March 1949 to lend some support to the attacking resources assembled by Raich Carter as the Tigers powered their way out of Division Three North and up to the second tier. Shepherd immediately rewarded the gaffer by scoring a debut winner at Darlington. Elevated to the second tier, Shepherd’s appearances were limited to times when fellow wideman Eddie Burbanks was unavailable and Ernie left the Tigers in the 1950 close season.
Ernie was born in Wombwell, a small town north of Barnsley, but after a spell on the Bradford City groundstaff as a teenager Shepherd headed off to Fulham at the age of 16. He broke into the Fulham first team in September 1939, only for the Second World War to begin the following day and league record for his debut game expunged. Shepherd served in the RAF during the war and stayed at Fulham, while also making wartime guest appearances for Huddersfield Town and Bradford City. He played for Fulham for two seasons after the war, finally making his “official” league debut in 1946. In December 1948 he moved to West Bromwich Albion in a player swap that saw Arthur Rowley join the Cottagers, but three months later Raich Carter apporached the Baggies and signed Shepherd to the Tigers. Shepherd thus played for three clubs in one season – Fulham, West Brom and City – all of whom were promoted at the end of 1948/49 season – surely a unique record!
Shepherd headed back to London in the 1950 close season, joining Queens Park Rangers where he gave six seasons’ service. He joined Hastings United as player-manager in 1956 and became a coach when he retired from playing in 1957, serving clubs in England, Iceland and Dubai. He was appointed first team manager for Southend United in 1967, where he had the pleasure of managing a young Rodney Marsh, before leaving the role in 1969. In the 1970s he managed Pegasus Athletic and was assistant manager at Leyton Orient. Shepherd settled at Eastwood, near Southend, in Essex and died in March 2001.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 14 August 1919, Wombwell
Hull City First Game: 12 March 1949, Darlington A (Division Three North), 29 years, 210 days old
Hull City Final Game: 18 March 1950, Leeds United A (Division Two), 30 years, 216 days old
Clubs
Fulham (1936-1948), West Bromwich Albion (1948-1949), Hull City (1949-1950), Queens Park Rangers (1950-1956), Hastings United (1956-1957)
Hull City Record
Career: 15 apps, 3 goals
Ernie Shepherd| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948/49 | 6 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1949/50 | 9 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |