Number 14 on our list brings us to one of the most imposing centre forwards ever to lead the line at Sincil Bank, a player whose scoring touch and burly build made him a crowd favourite during a turbulent era for the club.
His Lincoln City career may have lasted only two seasons, but his output in the EFL gives him one of the best goals per game ratios of any post-war Imps striker, placing him firmly among the most prolific forwards of the period.
#14, Bud Houghton, 0.41
Harry Brian Houghton, better known throughout his career as Bud, was born in Madras in 1936 and moved to England with his Anglo Indian family shortly after India gained independence. His journey through the English game began at Bradford Park Avenue, where he turned professional in 1955 and scored seven goals in 28 Football League appearances. Birmingham City signed him in 1957 for £5,250, although opportunities were limited and the powerful centre forward managed just four league games and one goal in a First Division side that required a different style through the middle.
A move to Southend United in 1958 revived his career, and he became a key figure for the Third Division club, scoring 33 goals in all competitions and finishing the 1958-59 season as their leading scorer with 20. His form attracted Arthur Turner, now building a strong Oxford United side, who paid £2,000 for him in March 1961. Houghton responded with 13 goals before the season ended, including five in a 7-2 win over Boston United as Oxford won the Southern League title. He went even better the following year with 43 goals in 42 appearances as Oxford retained the title and secured election to the Football League.
His form persuaded Lincoln City manager Bill Anderson to spend £6,000 on him in October 1963. The Imps had struggled for goals through the early months of the 1963-64 season and Houghton arrived as the experienced, physical centre forward supporters felt the side needed. He made an immediate impression, scoring in only his second appearance at Brighton and then beginning a strong run of form that endeared him quickly to the Sincil Bank crowd. He scored in a 3-2 win over Chester on his home debut and produced goals in each of the next five games seen by many supporters at the time, including a memorable hat trick during a 4-0 victory over Halifax in February.
Houghton finished that first campaign with 14 league goals in 26 appearances as City climbed to an 11th-place finish after several difficult seasons. Expectations were high for 1964-65 and he began with a goal in a 4-2 win over Hartlepools, but the form of both the team and the striker soon declined. A change in team selection policy, which saw the directors intervene during a poor run, disrupted the forward line and Houghton found himself both recalled and dropped during a bleak sequence of results under Con Moulson.
His best spell of the season came after Roy Chapman restored him to the starting eleven. Houghton responded with a goal in each of his first two matches under the new manager, then produced a man-of-the-match performance with two goals as City drew 4-4 at Southport. Those proved to be his final goals for the club. He finished the season with 11 goals and ended the campaign as Lincoln’s leading scorer, although the team required re election to remain in the Football League.
In total, Houghton scored 22 league goals in 54 EFL appearances for Lincoln City, giving him a goals per game ratio of 0.41. Across all competitions he scored 25 goals in 61 matches. He left in the summer of 1965 and returned to the Southern League with Chelmsford City, later appearing for Cambridge United, Wellington Town and Cheltenham Town before finishing his playing days at Morris Motors.