431 Brian Cripsey

Biography

Diminutive outside left Brian Samuel Cripsey was born in Hull and grew up in a farming family at Coniston in Holderness. He the Tigers in November 1951 from local amateur side Hull Brunswick, having completed his National Service. He made his City debut a year later and for three seasons he struggled to establish himself as a first team regular ahead of experienced wingers Eddie Burbanks and Brian Bulless, although during that period he did score his first City goal against Lincoln City on Boxing Day 1953. In the 1955/56 season Cripsey finally became a regular pick, coincidentally the season that City were relegated from the Second Division, and he maintained that status for two further years as the Tigers fought in the upper reaches of Division Three North. By February 1957 Cripsey was attracting the attention of First Division side Sunderland but a transfer broke down when a makeweight Wearsider refused to move to the Tigers – a similar proposed transfer to Newcastle United came to the same fate two months later. Brian’s best season in front of goal came in the 1957/58 season when he struck eight times, but by the start of the 1958/59 season, in which the Tigers would finally win promotion back to the Second Division, Cripsey was a peripheral figure and he left the club in September 1958.

In September 1958 Cripsey was lured away from his local club, joining North Wales based Division Three side Wrexham in return for a £4,000 fee. He went straight into the Wrexham first team and scored on his debut against Mansfield Town. He spent two seasons at the Racecourse Ground but failed to make his mark in his second season, injuries limiting him to only two starts that took his tally to three goals in 27 senior starts for the Robins.

In July 1960 he headed back to the East Riding and signed for Bridlington Town. He made the switch to local rivals Bridlington Trinity in August 1961 and netted eight Yorkshire League goals for the Colours in the 1961/62 season while working as a laboratory assistant in a dairy. In December 1962 Cripsey joined Midland League side Goole Town but his time by the River Ouse was short lived as in August 1963 he emigrated to New Zealand, where he played for North Shore United and continued his second career as a laboratory technician, living in Tocapuna near Auckland.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 26 June 1931, Hull
Hull City First Game: 3 January 1953, Brentford A (Division Two), 21 years, 191 days old
Hull City Final Game: 15 September 1958, Notts County H (Division Three), 27 years, 81 days old

Clubs

Hull Brunswick, Hull City (1951-1958), Wrexham (1958-1960), Bridlington Town (1960-1961), Bridlington Trinity (1961-1962), Goole Town (1962-1963), North Shore United

Hull City Record

Career: 159 apps, 20 goals

Brian Cripsey
SeasonLGE
App
LGE
Gls
FAC
App
FAC
Gls
FLC
App
FLC
Gls
EUR
App
EUR
Gls
OTH
App
OTH
Gls
1951/52
1952/5311020
1953/5416330
1954/55100
1955/5630220
1956/5738631
1957/5835840
1958/5950

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