Harry Hibbs

Henry Edward Hibbs (27 May 1906 – 23 April 1984) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Birmingham and England in the 1920s and 1930s. His uncle Hubert Pearson and cousin Harold Pearson were also professional players.

Playing career Hibbs was born in the township of Wilnecote, Warwickshire and, whilst training as a plumber, played for his local club sides Wilnecote Holy Trinity and Tamworth Castle, who had some torrid seasons in the Birmingham and District Football League (the club conceding a total 164 goals over the 1922 and 1923 seasons). Despite this, Hibbs came to the attention of Birmingham when he was 17 years of age, and impressed so much in trials that he was offered professional forms in May 1924. Among such club legends as Frank Womack and Joe Bradford, Hibbs became a regular feature of Billy Beer's side, but it was a barren period in the club's history.

Leslie Knighton's arrival from Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in 1928 signalled an improvement in fortunes for both Hibbs and Birmingham. Hibbs was part of an FA tour to South Africa and made three appearances for the Football League XI. His form on the FA tour earned him a call up for England, and he was selected to play Wales at Stamford Bridge on 20 November 1929. England won the match 6–0, with a hat-trick from George Camsell He was selected for the "Professionals" in the 1929 FA Charity Shield, but missed the game due to an injury.

Prior to Hibbs's debut, the England selectors had tried 21 different goalkeepers in the nine years since Sam Hardy's retirement in 1920. Hibbs was almost a "carbon copy" of Hardy, unspectacular but highly reliable, preferring to do everything in as simple a manner as possible, a style that was to see him become England's most capped goalkeeper up to that time,

Honours Birmingham FA Cup runner-up: 1930–31