When Mark Dalgleish gave Harvey Enticknap his debut in Hassocks’ FA Vase defeat to K Sports back in September, he became the 300th different name to appear on the team sheet in the Beacon era.
The first, 26 years and 299 players previously, was goalkeeper Tim Edwards who was in Nick Greenwood & Pete Liddell’s starting line up for the opening game of the 1992-93 season against Broadbridge Heath.
Hassocks lost that day, going down 2-1 against the Bears in their first game back in what was then known as Unijet Sussex County League Division Two following their promotion as Division Three champions at the end of the previous season.
The first 11 names features many greats from Hassocks past and many who’s sons have since gone onto play for the club at various levels in the intervening years. Edwards played in goal with the first 10 outfield players of the Beacon era being Derek Elphick, Mark Launder, Kevin Bates, Adie Rowe, Nigel Carr, Jerry Barkley, Andy Fisk, Neil Smith, Steve Hards and Dave Smith. Steve Carr was the one used substitute from the two permitted in those days with Warren Dodds remaining glued to the Beacon bench.
Mickey Turner made his first appearance as a substitute in the third game of the 1992-93 season, a 3-1 win away at Saltdean United and he would go onto play 594 times for the club, by far and away more than anyone else. The recently retired Ashley Marsh sits second on the list with 525 appearances with the much-missed Chris Hewitt the only other player to pass the 500 mark on 508.
Three further players made it into the 400’s – Ashley Low, Anthony Hibbert and Fisk Senior – while there are seven names in the 300’s with James Laing, Dodds, Joel Harding, Phil Gault, Paul John, Richard Thompson and Robbie Kitchen all having clocked up over a triple century of games.
47 players since 1992 have managed to pass 100 appearances including five of the current crop with Jordan Badger, Liam Benson and Harry Mills all within potential sight of the century this season. Speaking of the current crop, Spencer Slaughter leads the way on 273 and should he stay injury and suspension free, could pass the 300 mark this season while Dan Jacques is extremely close to 200 appearances of his own.
Both Slaughter and Jacques have come through the youth system at the Beacon, two of 96 players to have been home-grown by the Robins. Marsh remains the most successful of those for Hassocks while Pat Harding and Sam Fisk both went onto play Conference National football with Eastbourne Borough and Lewes respectively after playing over 100 times for the Robins.
At the other end of the appearances scale from the likes of Turner, Marsh and Hewitt, eight players have only one start to them while 25 players of the 300 made their single appearance from the substitutes bench. Dave Smith is the most used Hassocks substitute of the 300 players, having appeared from the bench in 57 of his 260 games for the Robins. Hibbert has 55 introductions to his name which is the same of Nathan Miles and all three of those players also appear on the top scorers list.
Gault leads the way with 185 goals which is a record that it is hard to see being eclipsed in a day and age where players are much more prone to moving clubs. James Laing sits second with 143 from 351 games with Pat Harding back in third with 131 goals from 195 appearances.
Hibbert has a remarkable 124 despite playing for his entire Hassocks career as a midfielder which is one more than Kitchen, those being the five men to have passed a century of goals for the Robins. Phil Johnson recently went past the 50 mark and he could be joined soon by Slaughter who is currently on 45.
As for the overall totals? The 300 players to represent Hassocks have made 13,612 starts between them over the last 26 years with 2,408 appearances coming from the substitutes bench. That totals 16,020 games in Hassocks colours while they’ve netted a combined total of 2,107 goals since the Beacon opened its doors.
Seven men have managed Hassocks in that time with Dave John leading the way in terms of games. Greenwood, Liddell, John Suter, Mickey Jewell, Mark and Dalgleish and Phil Wickwar are the others.
