Lal Hilditch

Clarence Hilditch
Personal information
Full name Clarence George Hilditch
Date of birth (1894-06-02)2 June 1894
Place of birth Hartford, England
Date of death 31 October 1977(1977-10-31) (aged 83)
Playing position Outside left
Wing half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–19?? Hartford ? (?)
19??–19?? Witton Albion ? (?)
1915–1916 Altrincham 17 (18)
1916–1932 Manchester United 301 (7)
Teams managed
1926–1927 Manchester United (player-manager)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Clarence George "Lal" Hilditch (2 June 1894 – 31 October 1977), also known as Clarrie Hilditch, was an English footballer, and one of only two men to have been simultaneously a player and the manager at Manchester United (the other being Ryan Giggs).

Hilditch was born in Hartford, Cheshire, and began his playing career with Hartford, before moving on to Cheshire League sides Witton Albion and Altrincham. In January 1914 he joined Manchester United as an outside left, but soon changed to his favoured half back position. He featured three times during the 1913/14 season before establishing himself in the team the following term. Although he joined Manchester United during the First World War, he quickly established a name for himself as an astute halfback who was an incredibly clean tackler and read the game well.

In the summer of 1920 he was selected by the Football Association to be part of the 20-man squad that travelled to South Africa for a 14 match tour. Hilditch featured in all three 'tests' against South Africa but it was the closest he came to international recognition.

In October 1926, after John Chapman was suspended for unknown reasons, Hilditch took over the manager's job for the rest of the season in addition to his playing duties.

A stalwart in the United team for over a decade, he played 322 league games scoring 7 league goals before retiring in 1932 without winning any medals with the club.

Managerial statistics

Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Manchester United England October 1926 April 1927 30 9 7 14 30.00
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jack Mew
Manchester United captain
1919–1922
Succeeded by
Frank Barson


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